ncoln,  Illinois,  Or; 


XI  B  R.AR.Y 

OF   THE 

UNIVERSITY 
OF    ILLINOIS 

331.B9 
C73p 


Jk    '.    T:    J. 

•    '*   A-*** 


* 


Plea  of     » 

Frank  Comerford 


In  Defense  of      jp-     '  »      if 

Carl  E.  Person  's  Life 

^"^~~^fc 


/***•**  <^*^1j        t 


Made  at  Lincoln,  Illinois,  October 
Fourth,  Nineteen  Hundred  Fourteen 


Stand  Up  and  Fight 


You're  sick  of  the  game ;  well  now  that's  a  shame, 

You're  young  and  you're  brave  and  you're  bright; 

"You've  had  a  raw  deal/"  "I  know--but  don't  squeal, 

Buck  up/  Do  your  damndest  and  fight. 

It's  the  plugging  away  that  will  win  you  the  day, 

So  don't  be  a  piker,  old  pard! 

Just  draw  on  your  grit;  it's  dead  easy  to  quit; 

It's  keeping  your  chin  up  that's  hard. 

It's  easy  to  cry  that  you're  beaten — and  die; 

It's  easy  to  crawfish  and  crawl ; 

But  to  fight  and  to  fight  when  hope's  out  of  sight — 

Why — that's  the  best  game  of  them  all! 

And  though  you  come  out  of  each  gruelling  bout 

All  broken  and  battered  and  scarred, 

Just  have  one  more  try — it's  dead  easy  to  die, 

It's  the  keeping  on  living  that's  hard. 

— Robert  W.  Service 


Copyrighted  by 

The    Person    Defense   League  of  Chicago,  Cook 
County,  Illinois 

1915 


INTRODUCTION 


An  injury  to  one,  is  the  concern  of  all, 
United  we  stand,  divided  we  fall. 

These  two  lines  constitute  an  epitome  of  Americas'  Organized 
Labor  Movement. 

Pessimistic  critics  may  seek  to  disprove  this  claim,  by  citing  in- 
stances wherein  the  unity  of  action  so  clearly  and  forcibly  expressed 
was  apparent  by  its  absence ;  inquiry  into  such  evasions  and  flagrant 
violations  of  Labors'  fundamental  principles  will  invariably  disclose 
the  fact,  that  such  a  contemptible  proceeding  was  never  due  to  any 
change  of  heart  or  thought  on  the  part  of  the  rank  and  file,  but 
emanated  from  the  self-centered  minds  of  aspiring  individuals  whose 
temporary  investure  with  an  official  title  and  representative  author- 
ity, filled  them  with  a  mistaken  sense  of  self-importance  that  distorted 
law  into  license  and  made  the  needs  and  wants  of  the  many  a  matter 
of  minor  consideration  when  they  clashed  with  pjersonal  ambition  and 
schemes  of  self-aggrandisement. 

Every  mile-stone  on  the  road  of  industrial  progress  stands  as  an 
enduring  monument  commemorating  deeds  of  unconscious  heroism, 
uncomplaining  sacrifices  and  the  endurance  of  inexpressable  misery 
and  privations,  in  a  common  cause,  by  the  common  soldiers  in  the 
vast  army  of  over-worked  and  under-paid  toilers. 

For  years  unscrupulous  employers    of    labor,    under  the  hypo- 
critical guise  of  paternal  solicitude,  benificent  purpose  and  various 
other  forms  of  sophism,  kept  the  credulous  workers  hopelessly  divided 
i     and  in  ignorance  of  their  own  powers ;  they  robbed  the  defenseless 
employes  with   impunity,  they  harried  them  with   skilfully  devised 
£*     plans,  intended  to  increase  production  while  decreasing  the  cost,  until 

the  limit  of  physical  endurance  was  not  only  reached  but  passed. 

<tf 

^  Disheartened  and  broken  spirited,  Labor  despairingly  sought  re- 

lief and  through  bitter  experience  gradually  awoke  to  a  realization 
of  the  truth,  that  divided  it  was  helpless  and  that  practical  organiza- 
tion of  its  units  was  an  essential  preliminary  to  the  emancipation  of 


£  HISTORY  OF  THE  CARL  E.  PERSON  CASE 

America's  bread-winners  from  a  condition  of  bondage,  more  repug- 
nant in  nature  than  the  chattel  slavery,  wiped  out  by  the  floods  of 
human  blood  that  stained  the  battle  fields  of  the  American  Civil  War. 

As  the  signs  of  revolt  on  the  part  of  Labor  became  more  evident, 
the  pusillanimous  business  aristocracy  of  America,  composed  of  rail- 
road KINGS,  merchant  PRINCES,  coal  BARONS,  CAPTAINS  of 
industry  and  the  lesser  sprigs  of  DOLLAR  NOBILITY,  through 
their  vassals  in  the  various  branches  of  Governmental  service,  sought 
and  obtained  extraordinary  privileges,  intrenched  themselves  behind 
special  legislation  and  by  use  of  the  military  forces  of  the  country, 
aided  by  the  private  mercenaries  their  wealth  could  command,  de- 
cided to  either  suppress  or  destroy  the  forces  of  Organized  Labor. 

Unafraid  and  undismayed,  inspired  by  victory  and  learning  wis- 
dom through  occasional  defeat,  the  army  of  organized  toil,  under 
difficulties  innumerable  and  apparently  insurmountable,  kept  con- 
sistently at  its  self-appointed  task  of  humanizing  the  existing  policy 
of  commercializing  want  and  the  trading  upon  human  misery,  re- 
storing to  the  Nation's  babies,  the  childhood  of  which  they  had  been 
robbed;  giving  back  to  the  young  girls  their  youth  and  beauty,  taken 
from  them  by  business  greed;  replacing  woman's  crown  of  feminine 
virtues  and  glory,  lost  in  the  enforced  struggle  for  bread;  returning 
to  the  boys  the  opportunities  for  an  education  and  a  broader  life,  so 
long  denied  them ;  renewing  man's  waning  strength  and  faltering 
independence  almost  destroyed  by  the  demands  of  profit.  How  well 
Trades  Unionism  has  succeeded  in  its  efforts,  history  is  ready  to  ad- 
vise the  interested. 

This  never  ending  struggle  between  the  contending  employers 
and  employes,  is  based  upon  the  employer's  desire  to  either  rule  or 
ruin  and  the  employes'  refusal  to  tamely  submit  to  the  deliberate 
draining  of  their  vitality  by  enforced  competition  with  the  tireless 
energy  of  machinery  and  the  destructive  and  debasing  tendency  of 
the  modern  efficiency  systems  in  vogue  and  the  further  knowledge 
that  when  exhausted  they  will  be  cast  upon  the  scrap-heap  as  a 
profitless  commodity,  none  care  to  burden  themselves  with  and  whose 
only  refuge  is  a  suicides'  grave. 

Like  the  war  of  Nations,  the  industrial  war  consists  of  many 
battles,  fought  at  different  times,  in  different  places  and  by  different 


HISTORY  OF  THE  CARL  E.  PERSON  CASE  •* 

troops,  with  this  distinction,  that  among  nations  both  sides  occupy  a 
plane  of  comparative  equality,  as  regards  the  use  of  publicity  agencies, 
information  bureaus  and  the  use  of  an  organized  and  efficient  spy 
system,  while  in  an  industrial  conflict,  such  advantages  are  the  sole 
perogative  of  BIG  BUSINESS  AND  ITS  REPRESENTATIVES. 

Encounters,  if  of  enough  importance  in  either  killed  or  wounded, 
losses  sustained  or  victories  gained,  may  eventually  find  a  place  in 
history,  otherwise  all  information  not  favorable  to  the  LORDS  of 
HIGH  FINANCE  is  religiously  eliminated  and  forgotten,  except  in 
the  hearts  and  minds  of  those  who  actually  fought  and  bled  at  the 
front,  or  endured  war's  sorrows  and  sacrifices  in  the  homes. 

Among  the  many  conflicts  that  have  taken  place  and  are  being 
waged,  none  have  been  or  are  more  spectacular  in  character,  more  re- 
plete with  evidence  of  the  venomous  hatred  and  malign  influence  of 
the  corporate  interests  involved,  than  the  fight  of  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral and  Harriman  Railroad  Lines,  to  prevent  the  shop  craftsmen  in 
their  employ,  from  following  the  example  set  by  the  roads  themselves, 
by  forming  and  maintaining  a  System  Federation  through  the  medium 
of  which  these  Trade  Unions  could  act  jointly  on  all  matters  affecting 
their  common  interests,  in  the  same  manner  that  the  railroads  employ- 
ing them  transacted  their  business. 

All  the  ancient  and  modern  tactics  of  war  were  put  into  practice, 
every  advantage  that  unlimited  dollars  could  purchase  or  procure ; 
from  legal  persecution  and  the  use  of  a  prostituted  press,  to  mislead 
the  public,  to  the  employment  of  cheap  crooks,  professional  gun  men, 
thugs  and  strike-breakers  was  resorted  to  in  a  desperate  effort  to 
insure  a  quick  and  decisive  victory. 

Though  illy  equipped  financially  for  an  engagement  of  such  mag- 
nitude, the  shop  craftsmen  involved  met  every  corporate  move  with 
such  determined  and  intelligent  resistence,  that  the  easy  triumph 
expected  by  the  Railroad  Kings  has  failed  to  materialize  even  up  to 
date. 

The  campaign  of  malicious  misrepresentation  conducted  by  the 
subsidized  press,  not  only  failed  to  blind  the  public,  but  also  opened 
the  eyes  of  the  strikers  and  from  their  ranks  came  one,  who  both  saw 
and  understood  the  need  of  the  hour. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  CARL  E.  PERSON  CASE 

Carl  E.  Person,  one  of  the  striking  Machinists,  located  at  Clin- 
ton, Illinois,  undertook  with  the  sanction  and  aid  of  the  strikers,  the 
establishment  of  a  Union  Publication,  to  be  known  as  the  "Strike 
Bulletin,"  the  columns  of  which  were  dedicated  to  the  telling  of  the 
truth,  the  whole  truth  and  nothing  but  the  truth,  without  fear  or 
favor. 

Under  Person's  able  management  the  Bulletin  turned  the  search- 
light of  uncompromising  honesty  upon  the  lawless  methods  of  Big 
Business  and  sent  a  pencil  of  blinding  light  along  the  slimy  trail  of 
the  hell  spawned  reptiles  crawling  on  the  deadly  mission  entrusted 
to  them  by  organized  and  conscienceless  dollars. 

Rascality  always  stands  in  dread  of  publicity,  its  blatant  self- 
assuarnce  shrinks  to  a  feeble  and  whining  denial  of  its  guilt,  it  re- 
alizes that  the  truth  signifies  ruin,  utter  and  complete;  the  Strike 
Bulletin  in  the  hands  of  courageous  and  incorruptable  Carl  E.  Person 
became,  not  an  instrument  of  vengeance,  but  a  safe  guide  for  a  long 
lost,  blind  and  bewildered  JUSTICE,  it  imbued  the  railroad  corpora- 
tions with  terror  and  spread  consternation  in  their  camp,  while  it 
animated  the  ranks  of  the  strikers  with  renewed  zeal  and  vigor  by 
replacing  despondency  with  hope  and  joy  and  carried  to  the  Trades 
Union  world,  as  a  whole,  a  weekly  message  of  good  cheer. 

The  Strike  Bulletin  and  Carl  E.  Person  were  in  time  regarded 
by  the  railroad  plunder-bund  as  a  Nemesis,  composed  of  twin  evils 
that  had  to  be  silenced  by  fair  means  if  possible,  by  foul  means  if 
necessary. 

It  logically  followed  that  the  abortive  attempts  to  suppress  the 
Bulletin  and  destroy  the  printing  plant,  together  with  the  murderous 
assaults  made  upon  Carl  E.  Person,  were  not  entirely  unexpected, 
each  failure  to  accomplish  the  end  sought,  rendered  these  business 
buccaneers  more  desperate  in  their  next  venture  and  ultimately  cost 
the  life  of  Tony  Musser,  chief  of  the  Illinois  Strike  Breakers,  in 
his  endeavor  to  carry  out  orders  to  get  Person.  Though  acting  in 
self  defense  Person  was  treated  as  a  desperate  character  unworthy 
of  any  consideration.  While  penniless,  Person  was  not  friendless, 
for  upon  notification  of  his  plight,  the  Chicago  Federation  of  Labor 
established  an  institution  known  as  The  Person  Defense  League. of 
Chicago,  consisting  of  a  delegate  body,  representing  the  various  Chi- 


HISTORY  OF  THE  CARL  E.  PERSON  CASE  5 

cago  Trades  Unions.  This  league  later  received  the  unqualified  en- 
dorsement of  the  Illinois  State  Federation  of  Labor,  The  Railway 
Employes  Department  of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor  and  its 
affiliated  International  Unions. 

To  the  Person  Defense  League  was  assigned  the  duty  of  solic- 
iting funds  to  defray  the  expenses,  incidental  to  securing  a  fair  and 
impartial  trial  for  Carl  E.  Person,  on  the  various  indictments  and 
charges  in  the  Federal  and  other  courts,  ranging  from  murder  to 
damage  suits. 

As  the  Person  Defense  League  was  aware  of  Carl  E.  Person's 
desire  to  voice  his  appreciation  of  the  efforts  of  those  laboring  in  his 
behalf,  in  the  preparation  of  this  pamphlet,  space  was  reserved  and 
tendered  to  Person  in  which  to  express  such  sentiments.  Person 
embraced  the  opportunity  offered  and  his  statement  is  herein  pre- 
sented, together  with  the  eloquent  and  soul  stirring  address  of  the 
talented  attorney  Frank  Comerford  of  Chicago,  Chief  Counsel  for 
Person  at  the  murder  trial,  held  at  Lincoln,  Logan  County,  Illinois. 

This  speech  not  only  embodies  a  complete  recital  of  all  the 
incidents  and  details  of  the  System  Federation  strike  up  to  and  in- 
cluding the  killing  of  Tony  Musser,  with  all  the  human  interest 
features  presented  in  a  manner  that  compels  attention  and  main- 
tains to  its  very  end  an  absorbing  interest  that  never  flags  and  as 
a  whole,  constitutes  the  most  masterful  presentation  of  Labor's  bill 
of  grievances  ever  voiced  in  a  court  room. 

The  Person  Defense  League  of  Chicago  in  presenting  this  booklet 
to  the  Trades  Unionists  of  America  and  their  friends,  makes  no  pre- 
tense of  offering,  either  a  brilliantly  cut  and  polished  literary  gem, 
or  a  typographically  perfect  production,  it  is  tendered  as  a  plain  and 
simple  statement  of  facts  in  connection  with  the  age  old  struggle 
of  humanity  to  retain  their  birth  right  of  freedom,  the  liberty  to 
organize  not  only  into  Unions,  but  also  into  Federations,  or  any 
other  method  of  obtaining  that  unanimity  of  action  which  will  serve 
as  a  key  to  unlock  the  door  that  bars  Labors'  entrance  into  the  land 
of  promise,  where  honesty  and  justice  reign,  real  freedom  exists, 
want  and  misery  are  unknown,  truth  and  happiness  is  the  rule  and 
not  the  exception. 

S^erson  3)efense  JCeague  of  Chicago. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  CARL  E.  PERSON  CASE 


FOREWORD 


There  is  little  for  me  to  say.  Mine  has  been  a  small  part  in 
this  struggle.  To  others  has  been  the  larger  accomplishment.  I 
can  only  send  out  my  gratitude.  Had  I  the  eloquence  of  all  the 
tongues  that  ever  spoke  or  the  skill  of  all  the  pens  that  were  ever 
wielded,  the  depth  and  strength  of  that  gratitude  would  still  be  un- 
told. 

Alone  I  would  have  gone  down.  You,  my  brothers  in  Organ- 
ized Labor,  shouldered  the  burden.  It  matters  not  whether  you 
gave  me  heartfelt  good  wishes  or  the  needed  mite,  my  gratitude 
cannot  be  measured. 

I  feel  unworthy  of  it  all.  Yet  from  my  experience  one  Truth 
flames.  When  he  is  made  target  in  the  service  of  organized  labor, 
the  humblest  card  carrier  has  back  of  him  all  unionism. 

This  has  been  my  strength  and  my  comfort. 

I  am  helpless  when  I  try  to  tell  how  I  feel.  So  many  helped. 
They  helped  generously,  unselfishly  and  were  untiring.  To  them 
alone,  in  the  ranks  and  otherwise,  is  the  credit  due. 

A  book  could  not  tell  what  the  Person  Defense  League,  organ- 
ized by  the  Chicago  Federation  of  Labor  and  indorsed  by  the  Illinois 
State  Federation  of  Labor,  has  accomplished  in  my  behalf.  Repeti- 
tion of  my  gratitude  in  special  mention  is  surely  allowable  here. 

And  mention,  too,  brief  as  it  must  be,  of  my  brothers  in  the 
Railway  Department  of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor. 

To  you  all  I  send  my  gratitude  and  my  greetings. 


CARL.    E.    PERSON 
Editor,    System   Federation    Strike   Bulletin 

Victim  of  Corporate  Hatred 


HISTORY  OF  THE  CARL  E.  PERSON  CASE 


Epitome  of  Events 


In  the  history  of  law,  the  trial  of  Carl  Person  is  a  notable  one. 
He  was  accused  of  murdering  Anton  Musser  in  Clinton,  Illinois,  on 
the  afternoon  of  December  Thirtieth,  1913.  The  tragedy  was  the 
outcome  of  a  strike  on  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  lines  in  which 
thirty-five  thousand  men  were  involved.  Person  was  strike  secretary 
for  the  men  and  up  to  the  time  of  the  killing  of  Musser,  underwent  a 
remarkable  series  of  systematic  persecutions  that  have  perhaps,  been 
unequaled  in  the  history  of  the  labor  movement.  His  trial  ended  in 
an  acquittal  on  the  grounds  of  self  defense. 

Following  is  an  epitome  of  the  principal  events  connected  with 
the  case: 

September  30,  1911,  thirty-five  thousand  employees  of  the  two 
railroads  were  locked  out  because  they  refused  to  disband  their  System 
Federation. 

Soon  afterward  Person  was  elected  Strike  Secretary  and  launched 
the  Strike  Bulletin,  a  newspaper  in  which  the  facts  concerning  the 
strike  were  given  to  the  public. 

Result,  the  stock  of  the  Illinois  Central  dropped  from  160  to  110. 
Dividends  from  7%  to  5%. 

In  May,  1913,  Editor  Person  was  slugged  by  Illinois  Central  gun 
men. 

In  May,  1913,  the  Strike  Bulletin  office  was  raided  by  Illinois 
Central  detectives  and  United  States  marshals.  Person  was  arrested 
and  a  federal  indictment  was  returned  against  him.  The  charge  was 
that  he  used  the  United  States  mails  to  reflect  injuriously  upon  the 
conduct  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad.  Conviction  carried  a  penalty 
of  thirty-five  years  in  a  federal  prison  and  a  fine  of  $35,000.00. 

June,  1913,  Editor  Person  was  again  attacked  by  Illinois  Central 
gun  men  on  the  streets  of  Decatur,  111.  He  was  le'ft  insensible  on  the 
street. 


CARL,  E.  PERSON  IN  HIS  CELL  IN  THE  CLINTON  JAIL 

Preparing    copy    for    the    Strike  Bulletin  and   conferring   with 
Attorney  Comerford  standing  on  other  side  of  cell  door 


10  HISTORY  OF  THE  CARL  E.  PERSON  CASE 

December  30,  1913,  Editor  Person  was  decoyed  from  his  office, 
by  a  fake  telephone  call.  The  call  was  from  Anton  Musser,  former 
chief  of  police  of  Clinton,  111.  At  that  time  he  was  chief  strikebreaker 
for  the  Illinois  Central.  Waylaid  and  beaten,  Editor  Person  shot 
and  killed  Musser. 

Charged  with  murder,  Person  was  put  in  jail.  Remained  there 
for  five  months.  He  was  denied  hearing  for  bail  in  De  Witt  County 
and  he  was  finally  released  on  $12,000.00  bail  by  Chief  Justice  Charles 
M.  Walker,  of  the  criminal  court  of  Cook  county,  sitting  in  the  city 
of  Chicago.  A  writ  of  habeas  corpus  was  used  to  take  Editor  Person 
out  of  the  custody  of  the  De  Witt  county  officials. 

Application  for  a  change  of  venue  in  the  case  was  made  in  June, 
1914.  The  prosecution  bitterly  contested  the  application,  filing  467 
affidavits  against  change  of  venue.  The  defense  filed  512  affidavits 
and  were  granted  change  of  venue  to  Lincoln,  Logan  County,  Illinois. 

An  attachment  suit  was  started  against  Person  for  $10,000.00. 
The  Strike  Bulletin  property  was  seized  by  the  sheriff. 

The  murder  trial  was  set  for  September  22,  1914. 

On  September  3,  1914,  Editor  Person  was  again  arrested  and 
thrown  in  jail.  This  charge  was  criminal  libel. 

The  murder  trial  began  September  22,  1914.  The  case  went  to 
the  jury  on  October  4,  1914.  The  jury  was  out  twenty-four  hours  and 
returned  a  verdict  of  "not  guilty." 

In  November,  1914,  Editor  Person  was  again  arrested,  charged 
with  criminal  libel. 

Carl  Person  is  still  on  the  job  at  Clinton.  The  Strike  Bulletin  is 
issued  weekly. 

The  other  criminal  prosecutions  against  Person  are  still  pending 
and  will  be  tried  soon.  So  will  the  attachment  suit. 


HISTORY   OF  THE   CARL   E.    PERSON    CASE 


11 


Following  is  a  List  of  All  Witnesses  Sworn  in  the  Case  of 
The  People  vs.  Carl  E.  Person 


L.   W.  Lemon 

Joseph  Barnett 

Harry  Osborne 

Louis  Edward  Nicholson 

Asa  Rudlsell 

Clarence  Reed 

W.  B.  Rundell 

Weldon  Ward 

C.  G.  Oakman 

George  Kane 

Myrtle  Hinkle 

Geo.  Cavanaugh 

Charles  Rowsey 

Frank  Meadors 

Edna  Matthews 

Julia  Duckworth  f 

Florence  Stuart 

Joachim  Willson 

Dr.  John  J.  Condon 

Homer  Short    . 

Ira  Davenport 

George  W.  Harrison 

Philo  J.  Crum 

George  Surcamer 

Oliver  Lane 

Li.  E.  Stone 

H.  A.  Campbell 

B.  F.  Wasson 

Mrs.  E.  J.  Flatt 

Albert  Jones 

Andrew  Hall 

Bert  Simmons 

A.  Duckworth    *" 

M.  Monahan 

William  Petard 

Charles  Garrett 

K.  K.  Moreland 

E.  J.  Spick 

Bert  Foist 

Frank  Minch 

Dr.  U.  Davis 

Harry  Scott  ' — 

John  Cox 


J.  J.  Rolofson    ' 

Charles  A.  Cline 

John  T.  Hand 

Thos.  C.  Wampler 

W.  H.  Armstrong 

Roscoe  Williams 

Fred  Ball 

George  Ferryman 

Dr.   G.   S.   Edmonson 

H.  A.  Moore 

H.  D.  Griffith 

Sam  Hagler 

Bert  Foist 

Helen   McCann 

Fred  Kirk 

Clarence  Thorpe 

Philip  Johnson  i/' 

S.  A.  Early 

Don  Maxfleld 

Rebecca  Fry 

Helen  Jones    / 

John  C.  Gray 

O.  F.  Burr 

Leland  Lawrence 

August  Duesing 

Geo.  Marvel 

Joseph  Bordenkeckker 

Patrick  Raleigh 

Harry  Mehan 

Sam  Sullivan 

George  Potter 

John  Matthews 

Geo.  Delbridge 

Lewis  Bridgewater 

William  McCord 

C.  Duckworth 

Carl   Person 

Emmet  Glenn 

Harry  Weene 

John  T.  Greene 

Geo.  Thorpe 

Logan  Merida 

C.  C.  Brown 

Respectfully  yours, 


Philip  Wolf 

Geo.  H.   Brown 

L.   F.  Slick 

Delmer  Bryant 

Joe  Moore 

Fred  Wade 

G.  W.  Hughes 

Dr.  S.  A.  Graham 

Chas.    Dickerson 

Douglas  Scott 

Jas.  Meagher 

Arthur  Rathburn 

Ellis  Baker 

Claude  Bush     < — 

Ernest  Mitchell 

W.   H.   Armstrong 

James  Jordan 

Jesse  Newcomb 

John  Taylor 

Dr.  B.  M.  Pugh 

Mrs.  Len  Barnett 

George  Seigman 

Mrs.    Hattie    Porter-Wilson 

Charles  Robbins 

J.  R.  Bosserman 

Edward  Bowles 

John  Murphy 

Geo.    Houchins 

Sam  Dunbar 

William  Geer 

B.  E.  Conley 

William  Holland 

Alva  Trogle 

Geo.    Shore 

Frank   Duey 

Samuel  Bowman 

Dick  Bryant 

Joe  Ives 

Pete  Burk 

Bart  Cox 

Henry  Van  Orsden 

John  A.  Freeman 


HETTIE  MARTIN  SHEETS. 
Court   Reporter. 


12  HISTORY  OF  THE  CARL  E.  PERSON  CASE 

Plea  of  Frank  Comerford,  of  Chi- 
cago, Illinois,  in  defense  of 
Carl  Person's  Life 

MADE  OCTOBER  FOURTH,  NINETEEN  HUNDRED  FOURTEEN 

May  it  please  the  court  and -gentlemen  of  the  Jury; 

I  rise  to  protest  against  the  methods  used  by  conscienceless 
dollars  in  their  warfare  upon  the  toiler.  I  speak  for  man — not  alone 
for  this  defendant  but  for  the  cause  he  represents.  Carl  Person  is 
but  one.  The  struggle  of  which  he  is  part  is  the  struggle  of  man- 
kind. Organized  Labor  has  its  honor  to  maintain.  Because  this 
young  defendant  undauntedly  took  and  kept  his  place  on  the  firing 
line  in  a  great  battle  for  Human  Rights  between  a  Greed  Captained 
corporation,  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company,  and  thirty-five 
thousand  men;  fathers,  sons,  husbands,  citizens,  Union  card  carriers, 
he  stands  today  in  the  prisoners  dock  accused  of  murder. 

The  bringing  of  a  defendant  to  the  bar  is  called  a  prosecution. 
It  is  brought  in  the  name  of  the  people  of  the  State.  Of 
this  powerful  plaintiff  Carl  Person  is  one.  He  is  a  citizen,  not  a 
subject.  You  are  asked  to  take  a  free  man's  blood  in  the  name  of 
your  state  and  in  the  name  of  his  state.  You,  Gentlemen  of  the 
Jury,  are  his  fellow  citizens.  The  judge  himself,  is  not  more.  We 
are  in  the  House  of  Justice  builded  by  the  hands  of  free  men.  Here, 
if  nowhere  else  in  the  land,  equality  must  be  undefiled  if  Freedom  is 
to  live.  Inconsistent  with  the  spirit  of  this  place  is  the  riotous  in- 
justice and  flagrant  blood  lust  which  have  made  of  this  trial  a  man 
hunt.  The  conscience  of  the  people  of  the  State  of  Illinois  is  moved 
neither  by  maudlin  malice  nor  by  cruel  cunning.  The  case  of  Carl 
Person  has  been  something  less  than  a  trial.  It  has  been  some- 
thing more  than  a  prosecution. 

My  responsibility  in  this  case  has  been  a  large  one.  I  have 
devoted  myself  to  its  discharge  with  every  ounce  of  courage  and 
ability  that  I  possess.  I  have  vigorously  disagreed  with  the  court 
as  to  the  law  that  should  govern  this  case.  I  have  dissented  from 
rulings  made  by  the  court  that  I,  in  good  faith,  believed  denied  to 
the  defendant  the  full  measure  of  Justice  awarded  to  him  by  the  law. 


FRANK  COMERFORD,  ATTORNEY-AT-LAW 

Chicago,   Illinois 

Chief  Counsel  for  Carl  E.  Person 


14  HISTORY  OF  THE  CARL  E.  PERSON  CASE 

If  I  have  been  vigorous  in  my  vigilence  I  am  justified  in  the  light  of 
my  own  conscience  for  I  have  been  fighting  for  the  life  of  an  innocent 
man.  I  have  acted  in  good  faith  in  my  disagreement  with  the  court 
as  to  the  law.  I  have  nothing  to  retract.  I  reaffirm  every  position 
I  have  taken.  If  there  may  have  been  some  sting  in  my  words,  some 
evidence  of  impatience  at  his  Honor's  rulings,  I  now  make  the 
apology  that  one  gentleman  makes  to  another  and  I  say  that  while 
I  am  still  firm  in  the  conviction  that  the  court  erred  in  a  way  costly 
to  my  client's  cause,  I  bear  the  Judge  no  ill  will.  Nor  does  the  de- 
fendant bear  him  ill  will. 

Of  special  prosecutor  Judge  Herrick  and  States  Attorney  Smith 
of  Logan  County  and  States  Attorney  Williams  of  De  Witt  County, 
I  have  but  one  thing  to  say.  They  have  been  untiring,  resourceful 
and  enthusiastic  in  seeking  the  conviction  of  Carl  Person.  For  nine 
months  past  they  have  been  eager  and  energetic  in  their  pursuit  of 
this  defendant. 

Conduct  of  State's  Attorney  Williams 

I  regret  that  Mr.  States  Attorney  Williams  was  so  stimulated 
by  ambition  for  victory  in  this  case  that  in  his  closing  address  to  this 
jury  he  slandered  a  neighbor  and  a  brother  attorney,  Mr.  Arthur 
Miller,  of  Clinton,  Illinois.  By  innuendo  and  slur,  Mr.  Williams  sug- 
gested that  Mr.  Miller  and  myself  were  guilty  of  bad  faith  in  present- 
ing this  defendant's  cause.  For  myself,  I  can  truthfully  say  that  I  am 
indifferent  to  Mr.  Williams'  opinion  of  me.  Had  his  attack  been 
directed  at  me  alone  I  assure  you  it  would  have  passed  unnoticed. 
But  in  view  of  the  fact  that  I  have  directed  the  case  from  the  beginning 
and  assume  undivided  responsibility  for  what  has  been  done,  I  feel 
it  my  duty  to  comment  for  a  moment  upon  the  Honorable  States  At- 
torney's assault  upon  my  associate,  Mr.  Miller.  Had  Mr.  Williams 
been  specific  and  pointed  to  a  single  act  showing  bad  faith  upon  the 
part  of  any  one  connected  with  this  defense,  he  would  have  at  least 
shown  himself  to  be  an  enemy  in  the  open,  using  the  honorable 
methods  of  warfare.  Then  we  could  and  would  have  made  answer. 
I  want  to  remind  the  prosecutor  of  De  Witt  County  that  a  general 
attack  unsupported  by  truth,  unwarranted  by  occasion,  marks  its 
maker  an  assassin  of  character.  There  are  some  who  prize  character 
even  more  than  life.  Honor  is  to  the  right  thinking,  well  bred  man, 
the  chiefest  of  possessions.  Reputation  makes  man  one  with  his 


HISTORY  OF  THE   CARL   E.    PERSON    CASE  15 

fellows.  He  who  would  strike  it  down  in  a  court  room  by  ruffianly 
innuendo  is  guilty  of  an  offense  that  cannot  be  excused  by  his  enthu- 
siasm and  ambition  to  win  glory  in  a  law  suit  which  involves  the  life 
of  a  man.  I  measure  Prosecutor  Williams'  conduct  by  his  enthusiasm 
and  ambition.  In  this  I  am  merciful  to  him.  I  am  reminded  that 
Brutus  slew  his  dearest  friend  in  the  name  of  ambition.  Judas  sold 
his  Master  in  the  same  agony  of  vanity.  Benedict  Arnold  betrayed 
his  country  when  this  poison  seethed  through  his  brain.  It  is  not 
strange  that  in  our  day,  a  man  of  smaller  stature,  Williams  by  name, 
eager  and  greedy  with  ambition  should  attempt  to  coat  with  slime 
the  names  of  those  whose  only  offense  has  been  loyalty  to  a  cause 
representing  the  life,  liberty  and  honor  of  a  human  being. 

Reasons  for  Accepting  Jury  of  Farmers 

I  am  a  stranger  to  you.  My  home  is  in  the  city  of  Chicago.  We 
are  not  near  neighbors.  The  occupation  of  this  defendant  is  a  very 
different  one  from  yours.  Your  problems  are  {hose  of  the  farm.  His 
are  those  of  the  Industrial  Struggle.  I  make  no  apology  for  not  living 
in  your  neighborhood.  I  make  no  excuse  for  the  defendant's  part  in 
the  struggle  for  Industrial  Justice. 

When  you  took  your  seats  in  this  jury  box,  I  questioned  you.  I 
learned  that  you  were  all  farmers.  I  knew  of  the  rumor  current  that 
a  jury  of  farmers  would  not  do  justice  to  a  Labor  Union  leader.  I 
knew,  too,  that  Person  would  stand  forth  as  that  militant  type  of 
uncompromising  labor  leader  who  is  often  branded  anarchist  by  the 
newspapers.  You  read  the  newspapers  and  have  no  doubt  read  the 
dollar  inspired  slanders  upon  organized  labor  which  are  printed  in 
the  newspapers.  I  was  not  ignorant  of  the  effect  that  this  poisoned 
publicity  has  had  upon  the  public  opinion  of  the  country.  I  knew 
your  life  problems  were  not  the  problems  of  the  men  who  work  in 
the  factories  and  in  the  mines  and  in  the  shops.  It  was  easy  for  me 
to  comprehend  how  you  might  fail  to  understand  and  appreciate  the 
real  motive  and  purpose  of  organized  labor.  Understanding  begets 
intelligent  sympathy.  Not  understanding,  you  might  be  moved  to 
withhold  from  this  defendant  the  degree  and  quality  of  justice 
guaranteed  to  him  under  our  law. 

You  live  in  God's  great  out  of  doors.  You  have  a  place  in  the 
sunshine.  Your  lives  are  natural.  You  put  your  brain  and  your 
brawn  into  partnership  with  the  ground  and  with  the  rain  and  the 


16  HISTORY  OF  THE  CARL  E.  PERSON  CASE 

sunshine,  and  you  live  an  independence  unknown  to  your  brothers  who 
toil  and  sweat  and  starve  in  the  great  industries  of  our  country. 
Occupation,  after  all,  is  only  incidental  and  accidental  to  life.  Occupa- 
tion does  not  make  the  man.  When  I  accepted  you  as  jurors,  I  had 
faith  that  back  of  occupation  and  entirely  unaffected  by  it,  there  lives 
in  each  of  you  a  sense  of  fair  play  and  an  openmindedness  that  makes 
your  vision  straight,  your  hearing  sensitive  to  truth  and  your  judg- 
ment responsive  to  conscience.  I  felt  that  the  humblest  in  our  state 
could  petition  you  for  justice  and'  not  be  denied.  I  knew  that  the 
lowliest  among  men  could  bring  truth  to  you  and  you  would  accept 
it.  This  is  America.  We  are  living  in  the  Twentieth  Century.  Two 
thousand  years  have  come  and  gone  since  the  Nazarene  died  in  the 
name  of  the  Brotherhood  of  Man.  One  hundred  and  thirty-four  years 
ago  the  social  brotherhood  of  man  was  written  in  the  Declaration  of 
American  Independence.  As  Americans  these  things  are  your  in- 
heritances and  they  are  living  parts  of  you.  Therefore  my  faith  in  you. 

I  believe  now  as  I  believed,  when  with  the  full  realization  of  my 
responsibility,  I  accepted  you  to  try  Carl  Person  for  his  life,  that  you 
will  accord  to  him  the  same  kind  of  justice  that  you  would  if  he  were 
a  farmer  boy.  The  fellow  who  works  in  a  factory,  the  man  who 
sweats  for  a  railroad  company,  the  man  who  writes  a  nation's  sonnets, 
he  who  lives  for  his  art,  the  farmer  whose  plow  is  back  of  it  all, — all 
are  kin!  Our  destinies  unite  us.  Our  common  feelings,  our  common 
ambitions  and  our  common  ideals  bind  us  together.  Only  misunder- 
standing separates  us.  The  separation  is  not  real,  it  is  not  lasting. 
It  is  but  a  mist,  a  fleeting  mist  that  hides  from  us  our  true  relations 
to  each  other.  With  better  understanding  it  disappears.  The  "Our 
Father"  message  of  Him,  first  called  anarchist  will  be  remembered 
last  by  the  last  called  Christian.  Our  government  will  be  a  failure 
when  the  workers  in  the  field  and  in  the  factory  forget  that  both  are 
workers,  that  both  are  citizens,  that  both  are  human  beings  destined 
to  live  and  succeed  in  brotherhood.  Prosecutor  Williams  is  Person's 
brother  even  as  you  are,  though  he  may  have  forgotten  it.  His  for- 
getfulness  does  not  change  the  fact. 

Before  accepting  you  as  jurors  in  this  case,  I  asked  you  question 
after  question.  You  all  made  answers,  gentlemen  of  the  jury.  The 
law  writes  down  my  purpose  in  questioning  you  by  saying  it  was  to 
determine  your  competency  to  serve  as  jurors.  My  object  was  wider 
than  the  law  defined  purpose.  You  remember  that  I  said  in  the  be- 


HISTORY   OF   THE   CARL   E.    PERSON    CASE  17 

ginning  of  this  case  that  men  live  on  hill  tops.  While  each  man  has 
eyes  like  the  eyes  of  his  brothers,  strangely  enough,  men  see  the  same 
things  from  different  angles.  Each  man  views  the  thing  that  he  sees 
from  his  height.  A  farmers'  experiences,  his  joys,  his  sorrows,  his 
sufferings,  his  struggles,  his  problems,  his  contact  with  life  and  life's 
contact  with  him—these  build  the  elevation  from  which  he  views  the 
subtle  thing  called  a  fact.  The  fellow  in  the  mines,  in  the  railroad 
shops,  in  the  pulpit,  in  the  studio,  in  the  lawyer's  office,  each  has  his 
experiences  which  fashion  his  attitude  of  mind  toward  life.  This  hill 
top  residence  of  mind  we  commonly  call  man's  "point  of  view."  The 
many,  many  questions  I  asked  each  of  you  were  neither  idle  nor  curi- 
ous inquiries.  I  was  searching  for  your  point  of  view.  I  wanted 
acquaintance  with  the  real  YOU  in  each  of  you.  Your  answers  to 
my  questions  gave  me  the  addresses  of  your  hill  tops. 

I  placed  Carl  Person's  life  in  your  hands.  You  made  a  contract 
with  me — a  contract  you  are  going  to  keep,  the  consideration  for  this 
contract  is  the  best  and  biggest  that  can  make  a  contract  binding.  It 
was  sealed  with  character.  The  law  recognizes  the  binding  quality 
of  this  contract.  This  court  will  instruct  you  that  the  answers  you 
made  to  my  questions  were  the  consideration  which  moved  the  de- 
fendant to  place  his  life  in  your  hands  and  that  it  is  your  solemn  duty 
to  stand  by  those  answers  now  and  in  the  jury  room  as  much  as  when 
you  made  them. 

Presumption  of  Defendant's  Innocence 

You  were  asked  if  you  could  and  would  presume  the  defendant 
innocent.  You  were  told  that  the  law  commanded  you  to  so  regard 
him.  I  explained  to  you  that  the  Mosaic  law,  the  bulwark  of  an 
ancient  justice,  laid  down  the  doctrine  of  revenge,  "an  eye  for  an  eye, 
a  tooth  for  a  tooth,  a  life  for  a  life."  The  Mosaic  doctrine  was  born 
of  hate,  and  was  administered  appropriately  by  persecution  rather  than 
by  prosecution.  It  had  its  day — it  ran  its  course.  There  came  upon 
the  plains  of  Galillee  the  Lonely  One.  He  brought  to  Life  a  bigger, 
nobler,  more  beautiful  conception  of  Justice.  By  His  life  and  teach- 
ings He  repealed  the  pagan  law  of  hate  and  set  in  its  place  one  of  love. 
From  the  tablets  He  erased  the  monstrous  doctrine  of  vengeance  and 
behold  the  world  was  kin — a  new  Justice  was  born. 

In  our  country  the  administration  of  criminal  justice  is  touched 
every  place  with  the  tenderness  of  the  Christ's  teachings.  Thus  it  is 


18  HISTORY  OF  THE  CARL  E.  PERSON  CASE 

that  we  inherit  the  doctrine  of  law  that  commands  you  to  presume 
the  defendant  innocent.  The  court  will  instruct  you  that  it  is  your 
duty  to  listen  to  the  evidence,  to  listen  to  the  arguments  of  counsel, 
listen  to  the  instructions  of  the  court,  march  to  the  jury  room  and 
there  take  up  the  consideration  of  the  evidence,  always  bearing  in 
mind  that  the  defendant  is  presumed  to  be  innocent.  Even  more,  that 
you  must  weigh  the  evidence  in  the  light  of  this  presumption  and  re- 
concile it  if  possible  upon  any  reasonable  hypothesis  consistent  with 
the  innocence  of  the  defendant. 

Doctrine  of  Reasonable  Doubt 

The  law  is  that  you  must  not  find  the  defendant  guilty  if  you 
have  a  single  reasonable  doubt  as  to  his  guilt.  The  court  will  in- 
struct you  that  this  is  the  law.  This  does  not  command  you  to  find 
the  defendant  guilty  if  you  believe  that  the  evidence  establishes  his 
guilt  by  a  preponderance  or  greater  weight  of  the  evidence.  Think 
on  the  words  as  I  repeat  them;  If  you  have  one  single  reasonable 
doubt  as  to  Carl  Person's  guilt,  you  must  acquit  him.  Give  that 
thought  room  in  your  minds  now  and  let  it  live  in  your  verdict  later. 
This  splendidly  human  provision  of  our  law  is  not  an  accident.  Lo! 
these  many  years  it  has  been  written  and  accepted  everywhere  that  it 
were  better  a  thousand  times  that  a  thousand  men,  aye,  ten  thousand 
men  who  are  guilty,  should  go  free  than  that  one  innocent  man  should 
be  convicted.  This,  too,  is  an  inheritance  from  Him  who  drove  the 
money  changers  from  the  temple  and  preached  of  love  and  brother- 
hood. It  is  not  strange  that  a  free  country  applies  this  wisdom  in 
its  law.  The  prosecution  is  brought  in  the  name  of  the  people.  If 
Carl  Person  should  be  found  guilty  by  a  jury  which  entertains  a  rea- 
sonable doubt  as  to  his  guilt,  it  would  be  a  crime  on  the  part  of  the 
great  State  of  Illinois.  The  jury  would  make  criminals  of  five  and  a  half 
millions  of  citizens  who  live  within  the  state.  Think  of  the  illegal 
hanging  of  one  man  in  the  name  of  all  the  people  and  by  all  of  the 
people ! 

A  "reasonable  doubt"!  What  meaning  lives  in  the  phrase? 
There  is  not  a  jurist  or  a  lawyer  in  Illinois  who  can  fix  in  words  the 
exact  mental  attitude  labeled  "reasonable  doubt" !  Every  man  must 
define  it  for  himself.  The  inner  man,  the  better  man,  the  real  man  in 
you,  knows  its  meaning  exactly.  It  is  an  infinite  knowledge  that 


HISTORY  OF  THE   CARL  E.    PERSON    CASE  19 

cannot  be  expressed  in  finite  words.     Measure  it  by  conscience.     View 
it  with  love  in  your  eyes. 

American  Law  of  Self  Defense 

The  court  will  instruct  you  as  a  matter  of  law  that  we  in  America, 
have  abandoned  the  antiquated  theory  of  self  defense.  In  England 
there  was  a  time  when  man  was  the  plaything  of  property.  Those 
were  the  days  of  the  feudal  lords.  Then  a  man  was  compelled  to  re- 
treat to  the  wall  before  the  right  of  self  defense  arose.  The  common 
law  of  that  day,  when  the  few  were  landed  barons  and  the  many  were 
tenant  serfs,  read,  "that  the  right  of  self  defense  did  not  arise  until 
every  effort  to  escape,  even  to  retreating  until  an  impassable  wall  or 
something  of  that  nature  had  been  reached." 

Today,  in  our  country  when  all  men  are  equals,  the  law  is  that 
a  man,  if  unlawfully  assaulted,  in  a  place  where  he  has  a  right  to  be 
and  put  in  danger,  real  or  reasonably  apparent,  of  losing  his  life,  or 
receiving  great  bodily  harm,  is  not  required  to  endeavor  to  escape 
from  his  assailant  but  may  stand  his  ground  and  repel  force  with  force, 
even  to  the  taking  of  the  life  of  his  assailant,  if  necessary  or  in  good 
reason,  apparently  necessary  for  the  preservation  of  his  own  life  or 
to  protect  himeslf  from  receiving  great  bodily  harm.  I  will  not  urge 
upon  you  the  appropriateness  and  the  wisdom  of  this  rule  of  law. 
Were  you  less  than  free  men,  it  might  be  necessary.  To  the  free  man 
it  is  only  common  sense.  Had  it  not  been  proclaimed  by  the  courts 
it  would  have  been  invoked  by  the  juries. 

After  you  were  sworn  to  try  this  case  I  addressed  you.  My  first 
words  were  and  I  now  call  upon  you  to  bear  me  witness,  "That  a 
promise  made  is  a  debt  unpaid."  The  words  are  those  of  a  young 
poet,  Mr.  Robert  Service.  At  that  time  no  evidence  had  been  pre- 
sented. Under  the  rules  of  practice  the  State's  Attorney  for  the 
prosecution  and  I  for  the  defendant,  addressed  you  and  made  promise 
of  the  proof  we  would  offer.  I  have  before  me  the  promise  made  by 
the  prosecution.  All  the  evidence  is  now  before  you.  Have  they 
kept  faith? 

Prosecution's  Offer  of  Proof 

"I  am  going  to  be  fair."  With  this  promise,  prosecutor  Williams 
began  his  offer  of  proof.  Alas !  It  was  only  a  promise !  A  promise 
like  the  promise  of  a  politician,  frequently  repeated,  seldom  kept.  I 


20  HISTORY  OF  THE  CARL  E.  PERSON  CASE 

did  not  dare  promise  you  that  I  could  be  fair.  My  loyalty,  my  affec- 
tion for  the  defendant  and  my  responsibility  as  his  counsel,  make  me 
incapable  of  absolute  fairness.  I  make  no  claim  that  I  can  free  my 
vision  from  the  influence  of  my  heart  feeling,  but  if  I  have  erred  and 
if  I  have  been  prejudiced,  thank  God  it  has  been  on  the  side  where  is 
balanced  a  human  life  and  the  honor  of  a  name!  To  err  on  the  side 
of  mercy  is  at  least  human,  to  err  in  ambition's  cause  and  become  a 
man  hunter,  is  quite  a  different  matter.  Mercy  has  excused  many 
sins,  ambition  has  never  justified  one. 

In  this  same  offer  to  prove  the  prosecutor  thundered  out,  "Not 
only  you  should  not  have  a  reasonable  doubt,  but  you  will  have  no 
doubt  from  the  evidence,  but  that  this  defendant  did  kill  and  murder 
Anton  Musser  in  cold  blood."  This  they  promised  to  prove — murder, 
cold  blooded  murder.  The  charge  came  from  the  responsible  officer 
of  this  court  charged  under  the  law  with  the  duty  of  representing  the 
people  of  the  State  of  Illinois.  He  must  have  been  conscious  of  its 
terrible  meaning.  He  offered  to  prove,  beyond  every  doubt,  that 
Carl  Person  was  a  murderer.  He  made  it  after  nine  months  of  in- 
vestigation. He  made  it  after  having  used  the  grand  jury  as  a  clear- 
ing house  in  which  he  gathered,  examined  and  arranged  the  facts. 
He  made  it  in  the  name  of  the  people  of  the  State  of  Illinois.  I  accept 
the  challenge.  I  accept  it  with  the  full  permission  of  the  defendant, 
whose  life  is  at  stake  and  now  solemnly  declare  to  court  and  jury 
that  if  that  promise  of  proof  has  been  fulfilled,  then  Carl  Person  should 
pay  with  his  life  the  full  penalty  for  his  crime. 

We  demand  an  unconditional  vindication  or  a  conviction  for 
murder.  This  is  not  the  time  for  compromise.  This  is  not  the  place 
to  compromise.  We  stand  on  the  battle  line  they  drew.  If  Person 
is  guilty  of  cold  blooded  murder,  I  make  no  plea  for  him  in  the  name 
of  mercy.  If  he  is  not  guilty  of  murder  then  with  all  my  soul,  I 
protest  against  a  compromise  in  the  name  of  conviction.  That  Person 
shot  and  killed  the  deceased  Tony  Musser,  we  have  not  denied.  That 
he  was  compelled  to  do  it  in  defense  of  his  life  is  our  defense. 

In  his  offer  of  proof,  the  prosecutor  further  said,  "The  prosecution 
will  show  that  the  defendant  rushed  at  the  deceased";  "That  Person 
fired  nine  shots  into  the  back  of  the  deceased." 

These  two  promises  of  proof  represent  the  vital  and  essential 
elements  of  proof  necessary  to  the  conviction  of  the  defendant.  We 


CARL,  E.  PERSON  AND  HIS  COUNSEL,,  ATTORNEY  PRANK 

COMERFORD,    WITH    CLINTON    COUNTY 

JAIL,   IN   BACKGROUND 


22  HISTORY  OF  THE  CARL  E.  PERSON  CASE 

accept  the  issue  tendered.     We  address  the  issue  to  you,  gentlemen 
of  the  jury. 

With  the  positions  of  the  defense  and  of  the  prosecution  sharply 
defined  and  clearly  before  you,  come  with  me  to  a  brief  and  hurried 
consideration  of  the  arguments  submitted  by  the  prosecution  after 
the  evidence  was  all  before  you  and  the  time  had  arrived  for  the 
summing  up  of  the  case. 

Prosecutor  Williams'  Closing  Argument 

Prosecutor  Williams  said  in  his  closing  argument,  and  I  quote 
him  literally,  using  a  transcript  prepared  by  the  court  reporter,  "There 
is  a  sharp  conflict  in  the  evidence.  I  apprehend  you  will  have  to  de- 
termine which  class  of  witnesses  you  will  believe  and  which  you  will 
not  believe." 

I  agree  with  the  prosecutor,  that  there  is  a  sharp  conflict  in  the 
evidence.  It  is  as  distinct  as  a  battle  line.  It  runs  through  the  entire 
case.  I  reply  to  the  prosecutor  that  the  very  clash  and  conflict  which 
you  argue  is  found  in  the  testimony  is  the  best  and  most  conclusive 
reason  for  this  jury's  finding  the  defendant  not  guilty.  This  con- 
flict compels  a  reasonable  doubt  of  the  defendant's  guilt  and  there- 
fore under  the  law,  commands  a  "not  guilty"  verdict  from  the  jury. 
The  states  attorney  has  unwittingly  served  justice.  When  a  cunning 
man's  mouth  is  open  truth  sometimes  escapes!  If  a  single  witness 
here,  an  eyewitness  to  the  tragedy,  testified  in  direct  opposition  to 
the  witnesses  for  the  prosecution  concerning  matters  material  to  the 
issue  here,  then  you,  gentlemen  of  the  jury,  must  on  your  oaths  as 
jurors,  say  that  that  witness  was  guilty  of  perjury  before  you  can  in 
good  conscience  and  under  the  law,  vote  the  defendant  guilty.  For 
should  you  believe  there  might  be  truth  in  the  testimony  of  a  single 
witness  to  the  tragedy  whose  testimony  made  out  a  case  of  self  de- 
fense, that  belief  is  a  reasonable  doubt  as  to  the  guilt  of  the  defendant. 
To  remove  all  reasonable  doubt  you  must  annihilate  all  evidence  con- 
sistent with  the  innocence  of  the  defendant.  You  must  brand  all  evi- 
dence consistent  with  the  defendant's  innocence  with  the  ugly  mark 
of  perjury  before  you  can  say  that  you  are  without  a  reasonable  doubt 
as  to  the  defendant's  guilt.  You  must  believe  that  every  witness  who 
testified  for  the  defendant,  whose  evidence  clashed  with  the  testimony 
offered  by  the  prosecution  is  a  perjurer,  or  it  follows  as  truly  as  the 
night  follows  the  day  that  such  testimony  disturbs  the  moral  certainty 
of  your  conviction  that  the  defendant  is  guilty. 


HISTORY  OF  THE   CARL   E.    PERSON    CASE  23 

We  have  two  kinds  of  law  suits — civil  and  criminal.  In  a  civil 
suit  money  and  property  rights  are  in  issue.  In  the  criminal  case 
life,  liberty  and  honor  are  involved.  The  law  protects  dollars  and 
property.  It  is  wise  and  just  that  it  does.  Law  is  human.  It  does 
more  than  protect  life,  liberty  and  honor.  It  safeguards  them.  In  a 
civil  case  where  dollar  values  alone  are  at  stake,  the  prosecution  is 
entitled  to  a  verdict  under  the  law  when  it  establishes  its  side  of  the 
case  by  a  greater  weight  of  the  evidence,  even  though  the  preponder- 
ance be  ever  so  slight.  In  a  criminal  case  the  prosecution  must  go 
further.  The  law  recognizes  human  values  as  of  more  importance 
than  dollar  values.  In  a  criminal  case  the  prosecution  must  prove 
its  charge  to  the  point  that  you,  sir,  and  you,  conscientious  citizens 
that  you  are,  can  say  in  the  presence  of  your  God,  that  the  defendant 
is  proved  guilty  to  a  moral  certainty  and  that  no  reasonable  doubt 
disturbs  your  peace  of  mind  in  uttering  your  verdict  of  terrible  con- 
demnation. The  State's  Attorney  has  tried  to  make  it  appear  that 
you  are  here  to  decide  which  side  has  the  greater  weight  of  the  evi- 
dence. That  is  not  your  duty.  If  you  followed  the  prosecutor's  lead 
it  would  be  your  crime.  When  the  time  comes  in  America  that  the 
lives  and  the  honor  and  the  liberties  of  those  who  inherited  freedom 
from  Valley  Forge  and  Gettysburg,  are  placed  on  the  same  plane  with 
dollars,  we  will  turn  the  hands  of  the  clock  back  and  set  the  civiliza^ 
tion  of  the  New  World  in  the  hour  of  the  Feudal  Baron  and  the  Tenant 
Serf.  We  will  have  driven  the  Christ  out  of  the  temples  and  set  the 
money  changers  in  His  place. 

Life  Story  of  Carl  Person 

In  Sweden  twenty-five  years  ago  a  child  was  born  to  an  honest, 
hard  working  couple.  He  was  named  Carl  Person.  His  parents  had 
heard  of  the  larger  freedom,  the  greater  opportunity,  beyond  the  ocean. 
Here  they  came.  At  the  age  of  nine  Carl  was  drafted  into  the  great 
army  of  toil.  Poverty  drove  him  into  the  world  of  work  in  his  very 
childhood.  A  great  steel  wire  factory  made  him  its  slave.  Ten  hours 
a  day  they  worked  him — a  dollar  and  a  half  a  week  they  paid  him. 
Exactly  three  months  and  three  days  was  Carl  Person  allowed  to  go 
to  school.  This  was  the  extent  of  his  education  in  schools — the  rest 
was  work,  work,  work! 

Carl  Person  never  had  a  play  time.  He  has  never  known  the 
joys  of  boyhood.  As  a  child  the  world  placed  upon  him  the  duties 


24  HISTORY  OF  THE  CARL  E.  PERSON  CASE 

and  cares  and  responsibilities  of  a  man.  From  the  wire  factory  he 
went  to  the  machine  shop  of  a  railroad  company  at  Joliet,  Illinois. 
There  he  learned  his  trade.  To  get  his  job  he  was  compelled  to  lie 
about  his  age.  Since  that  day  he  has  been  compelled  to  repeat  the 
lie.  It  was  not  Carl  Person's  lie,  it  was  the  sin  of  poverty.  Mr. 
Herrick  and  State's  Attorney  Williams  have  made  much  out  of  the 
fact  that  Carl  Person  lied  about  his  age  in  securing  employment.  The 
lie  is  that  he  said  he  was  older  than  he  in  fact  was.  They  would  have 
you  think  that  he  is  untruthful  because  conditions  compelled  him  to 
lie  to  get  bread. 

We  have  many,  many  laws  upon  the  statute  books  in  the  State 
of  Illinois.  For  many  years  we  have  had  laws  prohibiting  the  em- 
ployment of  children  under  a  certain  age.  Carl  Person's  poverty 
compelled  him  to  starve  or  go  to  work,  the  statute  to  -the  contrary, 
notwithstanding.  If  he  told  the  truth  about  his  age  the  statute  pro- 
hibited his  employment.  There  was  but  one  course  open  to  him. 
That  was  to  lie  about  his  age — lie  to  get  a  chance  to  sweat  and 
struggle  for  bread  and  shelter.  I  have  often  wondered  if  those  who 
pass  statutes  prohibiting  child  labor  think  that  by  so  doing  they 
abolish  child  slavery.  As  long  as  conditions  prevail  that  compel 
children  to  be  bread  winners,  child  labor  will  flourish.  Two  reasons 
make  unassailable  this  truth.  First,  greed  will  willingly  despoil  child 
life  in  the  making  of  profits.  Second,  poverty  compels  child  life  to 
offer  itself  victim.  What  could  child  slave  Person  do?  Or  any  of 
his  kin  in  poverty?  Except  go  to  work. 

We  have  other  statutes.  One  makes  stealing  a  crime.  Person 
and  his  kind  must  have  bread  and  clothes  and  a  place  to  sleep.  The 
law  commanded  him  not  to  steal  but  nowhere  do  I  remember  the 
law's  punishing  for  larceny  those  who  steal  the  playtime  and  school 
time  of  the  children  of  our  country.  Nowhere  do  I  recall  a  law 
which  orders  punishment  of  those  who  rob  from  young  bodies  the 
strength  of  youth.  Yes,  Person  lied  about  his  age.  Sinned  against, 
you  now  call  him  sinner. 

35,000  Men  Locked  Out 

On  September  thirtieth,  nineteen  hundred  eleven,  thirty-five 
thousand  American  citizens,  plain,  honest  working  men,  of  whom 
Carl  Person  was  one,  were  commanded  to  surrender  a  free  man's 
right  or  give  up  their  jobs.  Two  powerful  railroad  companies  sent 


HISTORY   OF  THE   CARL   E.    PERSON    CASE 


25 


out  the  order.  It  was  unconditional.  The  right  to  organize  was  the 
right  involved.  Organization  meant  everything  to  the  workers. 
Through  it  they  had  bettered  the  conditions  of  their  homes,  the  lives 
of  their  children  and  of  their  wives  and  of  themselves.  No  question 
of  wages  or  terms  of  employment  was  involved.  The  railroad  com- 
panies challenged  the  right  of  the  men  to  organize  into  a  logical, 
economical  and  efficient  union,  through  which,  as  workers,  they  could 
compel  reasonable  treatment  and  living  terms  of  employment. 

These  men  made  answer.  They  laid  down  their  tools  and  faced 
the  starvation  of  the  empty  pay  envelope  rather  than  surrender  a  right 
necessary  to  their  freedom  and  existence.  These  men  are  men  even 
as  you  and  I  are  men.  They  live  and  hope  and  love  and  dream.  They 
are  blood  and  brawn  and  brain.  They  have  souls.  They  are  the 
doers  of  work,  the  makers  of  prosperity,  the  strength  of  society,  the 
builders  of  civilization,  the  makers  of  homes,  the  sons  of  mothers,  the 
fathers  of  children.  They  are  free  men  in  a  free  country.  The  spirit 
that  made  our  nation  a  free  land  and  gave  us  our  inheritance  of  citizen- 
ship rather  than  the  slavery  of  subjection,  still  lives!  It  lived  in  these 
men  when  they  welcomed  sufferings  for  themselves  and  for  their 
families  rather  than  surrender  a  single  free  man's  right. 

Partnership  Between  Railroad  and  State 

One  of  these  masters,  a  heartless  thing  was  born  in  Illinois. 
It  was  named  at  birth,  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company. 
The  law  of  the  state  of  Illinois  gave  it  being.  Its  right  to 
existence  is  a  charter.  From  the  state  of  Illinois  it  got  that  charter. 
Under  the  terms  of  the  charter  the  state  of  Illinois  receives  a  per  cent- 
age  of  the  earning  of  the  railroad  company.  This  is  direct  participa- 
tion by  the  state  in  the  earnings  of  the  company.  Under  the  terms 
of  the  charter,  the  governor  of  the  state  is  a  director  of  the  Illinois 
Central  Railroad  Company.  The  participation  by  the  state  of  Illinois 
in  the  management  and  earnings  of  this  railroad  constitute  a  partner- 
ship within  the  meaning  of  both  common  sense  and  law. 

A  corporation  is  in  fact  an  organization  of  dollars  as  truly  as  a 
Labor  Union  is  an  organization  of  men.  On  the  thirtieth  day  of 
September,  nineteen  eleven,  the  railroad  company  took  away  from 
men  the  right  to  organize  although  the  right  to  organize  dollars  was 
the  very  essence  of  its  own  life.  Even  more,  the  state  of  Illinois, 
as  the  partner  of  the  railroad  company  and  the  creator  of  its  corporate 


26  HISTORY  OF  THE   CARL   E.    PERSON    CASE 

identity  was  placed  in  the  position  of  sanctioning  and  consenting  to 
a  command  that  stripped  citizens  of  the  state  of  a  right  that  the  law 
of  the  state  freely  and  cheerfully  gives  to  dollars. 

Carl  Person  left  his  bench  in  the  Illinois  Central  shops  at  Clinton, 
Illinois  in  protest  against  the  corporation  command  that  the  men  tear 
up  their  union  cards.  He  had  traveled  some  since  the  day  when  at 
the  age  of  nine,  he  entered  the  struggle  to  earn  his  living.  It  had 
been  a  rough  journey.  Experiences  were  many  and  the  hurts  and 
knocks  were  hard.  He  was  now  twenty-two.  Life  had  robbed  him 
of  many  things  but  it  had  given  him  a  mind.  Person  had  treasured 
the  gift  and  taken  good  care  of  it.  While  others  spent  time  and  money 
unwisely,  Person  used  what  little  of  both  he  had  in  getting  an  educa- 
tion. Carl  Person  could  think.  What  is  more  he  did  think.  What 
is  still  more  important,  he  thought  unselfishly. 

Birth  of  Strike  Bulletin 

Paid  advertisements  began  to  appear  in  the  daily  newspapers 
throughout  the  entire  strike  zone.  The  railroad  paid  for  them.  These 
advertisements  told  a  story  as  unfair  to  the  men  as  it  was  untrue. 
The  cost  was  large,  the  purpose  was  plain.  It  was  a  publicity  cam- 
paign designed  to  poison  the  public  mind  against  the  men  and  their 
cause.  Idle,  hungry  men,  who  earned  their  daily  bread  by  the  sweat 
of  their  faces,  who  have  families  to  clothe  and  feed  and  shelter,  cannot 
buy  space  in  the  daily  newspapers.  Person  saw  the  paid  adverties- 
ments  libeling  the  cause  of  himself  and  his  union  brothers.  He  read 
statements  branding  himself  and  his  brothers  as  anarchists  and  agita- 
tors. He  read  bold  falsehoods  placing  the  men  and  their  loved  cause 
in  a  bad  light  before  the  public.  He  realized  the  power  of  public 
opinion.  He  knew  the  poverty  of  the  cause — the  poverty  in  dollars, 
although  rich  in  faith  and  loyalty.  The  public  must  have  the  truth — 
the  facts!  Person  thought  hard.  He  had  an  idea — a  justice  serving 
idea.  He  had  the  stuff  in  him  to  put  the  idea  to  work.  He  started 
a  newspaper  and  called  it  the  "Strike  Bulletin."  Person  was  its  first 
as  he  has  been  its  only  editor.  He  printed  the  truth;  printed  it  fear- 
lessly, intelligently  and  effectively.  The  pickets  on  the  firing  line 
were  made  reporters.  Each  was  armed  with  a  camera.  Paid  publicity 
began  to  find  a  foeman  worthy  of  its  steel.  Truth  was  the  weapon 
Person  used  and  he  used  it  mightily.  The  reporters  and  the  cameras 
bega.i  to  get  in  their  work.  The  circulation  of  the  Bulletin  went  up 


HISTORY   OF  THE   CARL   E.    PERSON    CASE  27 

in  leaps.  One  edition  reached  a  hundred  thousand  copies.  Another 
went  into  the  million  class.  The  cameras  were  at  work.  So  were 
the  reporters.  Whenever  there  was  a  wreck  due  to  bad  equipment 
und  incompetent  employees,  the  cameras  clicked  and  the  reporters 
wrote  it  down.  Maybe  it  wasn't  literature,  but  it  was  TRUTH, 
spelled  in  big  letters.  No  one  could  gainsay  or  deny-  it.  No  one 
tried.  Person  had  been  at  first  a  bit  of  a  joke  to  the  corporation. 
Now  he  became  a  menace.  From  that  time  he  was  a  marked  man. 

Person  Hurts  Business  —  Becomes  Target 

The  Strike  Bulletin's  exposure  of  the  Illinois  Central  hurt  that 
railroads  business.  A  corporation  is  without  a  heart  but  it  has  in 
its  anatomy  one  vital  organ — its  pocketbook.  The  labor  editor  struck 
deadly  blows.  He  struck  them  right  and  left.  Never  for  an  instant 
were  the  cameras  and  the  picket  reporters  asleep  on  the  job.  Through 
a  corporations  veins  flows  in  place  of  red  blood,  a  curious  yellow  fluid 
— gold  they  call  it.  Where  Person  hit,  it  gushed  forth  in  a  mighty 
hemorrhage.  Dividends  shriveled  from  seven  to  five  percent.  The 
reporters  and  the  cameras  were  mighty  busy  in  those  days.  Stock 
tobogganed  from  one  sixty  to  less  than  a  hundred  and  ten.  And  still 
the  cameras  clicked,  the  picket  reporters  stuck  to  their  task  and  Person 
published  it  all.  The  injury  measured  in  dollars  amounted  to  millions. 
The  corporation  began  to  writhe  in  frantic  spasms  of  revenge.  In- 
stead of  a  joke  and  a  harmless  but  irritating  crank,  Carl  Person, 
twenty-two  years  old,  labor  editor,  had  become  a  dangerous  man. 

There  is  but  one  fate  for  a  really  dangerous  man.  He  must  be 
put  out  of  the  way.  The  "Strike  Bulletin"  must  be  silenced.  "Get 
Person,"  was  the  command  that  was  sent  out. 

An  injury  to  dividends  is  seldom  forgiven.  Never  forgotten. 
To  attack  the  value  of  a  corporation's  stock  is  to  commit  mortal  sin. 
It  has  been  written  by  the  mammon  worshipers  that  of  all  sins,  the 
greatest  is  the  dishonoring  of  dollars.  In  the  religion  of  greed  this 
is  the  law  and  the  prophets.  Most  grievously  had  Carl  Person  broken 
this  commandment. 

Who  was  this  Person — mere  working  man  and  by  grace  of  what 
God  or  law,  dared  such  a  lowly  one  oppose  and  expose  respectable 
dollars?  Soiled  by  toil,  he  now  soiled  by  speech  that  which  he  hath 
not  and  that  which  all  the  world  is  commanded  to  worship — GOLD ! 
Where  and  when  have  dollars  been  less  than  respectable?  So  much 


28  HISTORY  OF  THE  CARL  E.  PERSON  CASE 

have  dollars  been  termed  respectable  in  our  day  that  many  men  take 
all  the  respectability  they  have  from  their  dollars.  The  dollarless 
only,  seem  outside  the  pale  of  respectability  as  the  world  too  often 
measures  the  meaning  of  the  word. 

Pioneers  sometimes  become  trail  makers.  Carl  Person  was  blaz- 
ing trails  for  a  movement  so  worthy  that  should  it  ever  hit  the  right 
road,  every  wrong  before  it  is  doomed.  The  divine  right  of  GOLD 
was  menaced  by  Person's  pioneering,  therefore  Person  must  be  "got!" 
The  wound  that  caused  the  yellow  hemorrhage  must  be  revenged. 

Certain  ones  who  live  and  work  in  the  shadows  were  set  to  work. 
To  them  was  assigned  the  job  of  disposing  of  the  young  editor  and 
silencing  the  "Strike  Bulletin."  It  was  figured  an  easy  job.  The 
marked  victim  was  a  youth,  he  was  of  no  particular  consequence. 
Others  had  withered  in  fear  of  the  gun  man  and  the  murder  agent. 

Threats  Against  Person 

Person  began  to  receive  ugly  threats.  Some  were  anonymous. 
Others  were  brought  to  him  by  his  fearful  friends.  All  of  these 
came  from  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  shops.  Murmurings  and 
rumors  that  Person  had  better  depart  from  Clinton  if  he  wished  to 
escape  the  ignominy  of  being  tarred  and  feathered,  persisted.  Men 
with  the  mark  of  the  gun  man  on  their  low  brows  hung  around  the 
Bulletin  office  where  Person  worked  during  the  day  and  where  he 
slept  on  his  narrow  cot  at  night.  At  length  some  of  his  most  courage- 
ous friends  became  alarmed.  Not  so,  Person.  Unafraid  he  refused 
to  leave  his  post.  The  Bulletin  was  issued  each  week  regularly  and 
each  week  continued  its  assault  upon  the  pocketbook  heart  of  the 
railroad  companies.  Its  blows  were  direct  and  telling.  Each  one  was 
harder  and  truer  than  the  last. 

Threats  failed.  Person  could  not  be  scared.  He  could  not  be 
bulldozed,  nor  browbeaten,  nor  intimidated.  Person  knew  himself. 
He  trusted  himself.  He  was  cool  of  head.  He  had  never  taken  a 
drink  of  intoxicating  liquor  in  his  life.  His  nerves  were  steady.  He 
had  never  had  a  fight  in  his  life.  By  fight  I  mean  that  he  had  never 
been  mixed  up  in  a  brawl.  His  whole  life  has  been  a  fight  and  one 
against  great  odds — a  fight  to  survive  individually  and  a  part  in  the 
fight  for  the  betterment  of  his  brother  workers. 


HISTORY    OF   THE   CARL   E.    PERSON    CASE  29 

Person  Slugged 

In  the  month  of  April,  1913,  Person  was  in  Decatur,  111., — a  city 
just  twenty  miles  from  Clinton.  He  was  there  in  the  interest  of  the 
cause.  Evening  came  and  his  work  done,  he  started  for  the  station 
to  take  the  car  home.  Under  cover  of  the  darkness  thugs  set  upon 
him  and  brutally  assaulted  him.  The  attack  came  from  the  rear. 
The  beating  was  without  warning.  It  was  a  surprise.  It  was  un- 
provoked. As  they  beat  and  kicked  Person  to  the  ground  they  cursed 
into  his  ears  a  promise  of  death  if  he  did  not  quit  Clinton  and  stop 
the  publication  of  the  Bulletin.  To  make  binding  their  promise  they 
gave  him  a  final  kick  and  left  him  prostrate  upon  the  street. 

With  his  face  discolored  and  swollen  from  the  bruises,  and  his 
head  and  body  aching,  Person  got  back  to  his  office  and  the  next  issue 
of  the  Bulletin  came  out  on  time. 

Person  Slugged  Again 

Two  months  later,  in  June  of  1913,  Person  was  again  in  the  city 
of  Decatur  and  for  a  second  time  he  was  struck  down  on  the  public 
streets  and  battered  and  beaten  and  threatened.  Again  the  assault 
was  made  under  cover  of  darkness.  Again  the  cowardly  assailants 
had  struck  him  from  the  rear.  Again  he  was  commanded  to  leave 
Clinton  and  threatened  with  death  if  he  disobeyed. 

This  second  attack  failed  of  its  purpose.  The  Strike  Bulletin 
came  out  on  time. 

Person  Buys  Revolver 

They  had  threatened  Person.  They  failed  to  drive  him  from  his 
duty.  They  had  emphasized  the  good  faith  of  the  threats  by  admin- 
istering to  Person  two  terrible  beatings.  Calmly  and  coolly  Person 
made  up  is  mind  that  he  would  not  quit  the  firing  line  and  further  that 
he  would  not  be  driven  from  it.  Up  to  this  time  Person  had  never 
in  his  life  owned  or  carried  a  revolver.  The  last  beating  in  Decatur 
brought  him  to  a  decision.  Quietly  he  went  to  a  hardware  store  in 
Clinton  and  openly  and  without  comment  purchased  a  thirty-two 
caliber  magazine  gun  and  a  box  of  cartridges.  He  went  back  to  his 
newspaper  office,  loaded  the  revolver  and  put  it  in  his  pocket.  This 
was  all  done  so  quietly  that  James  J.  Meagher  and  Lewis  Nicholson, 
who  were  in  daily  association  with  him,  did  not  know  that  Persof 


30  HISTORY  OF  THE  CARL  E.  PERSON  CASE 

had  taken  steps  to  protect  his  life  against  gunmen.  This  was  in  July, 
1913, — just  six  months  before  the  tragedy.  The  first  time  Person  ever 
shot  this  revolver  (or  any  other)  was  on  the  afternoon  of  December 
30th,  1913,  when  he  sent  nine  of  its  steel  bullets  into  the  body  of 
"Tony"  Musser. 

Musser  Assigned  "To  Get"  Person 

Anton  Musser,  terror  of  Clinton,  formerly  its  chief  of  police  and 
later  chief  strikebreaker  for  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  company, 
took  personal  charge  of  the  "getting"  of  the  daring  editor  of  the  Bul- 
letin. Musser's  reputation  as  a  bully  and  fighter  was  honestly  won. 
He  was  a  muscular  giant — a  man  of  enormous  physical  strength.  He 
towered  above  ordinary  men.  He  measured  a  good  six  feet  two.  He 
weighed  two  hundred  and  twenty  pounds.  In  complexion  he  was 
dark  and  wore  a  long  black  mustache  which  intensified  his  fierce 
look.  In  his  veins  ran  riot  the  hot  blood,  of  the  Portuguese.  Musser 
sent  word  to  Person  a  day  or  two  after  Christmas  to  leave  town  before 
the  first  of  the  year  or  dreadful  things  would  happen  to  him. 

Person  made  no  move  to  obey.  He  gave  no  evidence  that  he 
feared  the  threat. 

Oil  December  twenty-ninth,  1913,  Musser  canvassed  the  situation 
concerning  Person  out  at  the  Illinois  Central  shops.  Rousey  was  one 
of  the  strikebreakers  with  whom  Musser  conferred  on  the  evening  of 
December  twenty-ninth.  From  him  Musser  learned  that  Person  ate 
his  meals  at  the  Interurban  Cafe.  Musser  arranged  to  have  Rousey 
come  with  him  that  evening  at  supper  time  to  the  restaurant.  Rousey 
and  Musser  went  to  the  cafe — at  least  this  much  of  truth  we  wrung 
from  the  unwilling  lips  of  Rousey.  Musser  stayed  outside.  Rousey 
went  in  to  reconnoiter.  Person  missed  dinner  that  night  because  the 
work  in  the  office  was  too  pressing  to  permit  of  his  leaving.  If  he 
had  not  who  doubts  but  he  would  have  been  lured  by  Strikebreaker 
Rousey  from  the  restaurant  and  under  cover  of  night,  murdered  in 
the  alley  adjoining  the  station. 

Musser  Decoys  Person 

December  thirtieth  was  cold.  The  year  was  coming  to  an  end. 
The  Bulletin  was  growing  in  circulation  and  power.  Person  was  still 
on  the  job.  The  promise  that  Person  would  be  "gotten"  and  put  out 


HISTORY  OF  THE   CARL   E.    PERSON    CASE  31 

of  business  before  the  beginning  of  the  New  Year  had  not  been  made 
good.     The  Illinois  Central  was  still  bleeding  its  yellow  drops  of  gold. 

Shortly  before  two  o'clock,  the  great  hulk  of  Tony  Musser  could 
have  been  seen  entering  the  saloon  of  Bryant  &  Cackley  on  the  north- 
west corner  of  North  Monroe  and  East  Main  Streets.  One  block  north 
was  the  office  of  The  Strike  Bulletin.  One  block  to  the  south  was 
the  Interurban  station.  Just  between  the  two,  on  North  Monroe 
Street  is  Bryant  &  Cackley's  saloon,  into  which  Musser  had  just  en- 
tered. Musser  asked  if  he  might  leave  his  overcoat  in  the  saloon. 
The  privilege  was  granted  him.  He  took  his  overcoat  off  and  hung 
it  on  the  wire  fence  adjoining  the  bar.  At  the  other  end  of  the  bar 
is  a  telephone.  The  number  of  this  telephone  is  687.  Musser  walked 
to  the  telephone,  took  down  the  receiver  and  called  736.  The  sub- 
scriber to  telephone  736  is  Carl  Person.  Telephone  736  is  in  the  office 
of  The  Strike  Bulletin.  The  operator  made  the  connection.  Telephone 
bell  736  rang.  Person  answered  the  call.  The  voice  at  the  other  end 
of  the  line  was  the  voice  of  "Tony"  Musser.  He  said  to  Person: 

"This  is  Fred  Kirk,  from  Decatur.  Come  down  to  the  Interurban 
station.  I  have  some  important  strike  news  to  give  you.  I  have  only 
a  few  minutes  between  cars  or  I  would  come  up." 

I  have  shown  you,  gentlemen  of  the  jury,  how  carefully  thought 
out  and  planned  the  "getting"  of  Person  was.  You  remember  that 
Fred  Kirk  testified  here.  Fred  Kirk  was  one  of  the  men  who  had 
gone  on  strike  with  Person.  Kirk  was  working  at  Memphis  at  the 
time.  He  was  raised  in  Clinton  and  Musser  knew  that  Kirk  knew 
Person  and  that  Person  knew  Kirk.  Thus  he  used  the  name  of  Fred 
Kirk  as  an  alias.  Musser,  in  luring  Person  to  his  trap,  baited  him 
with  a  friend's  name. 

Person  put  on  his  overcoat  and  hat,  left  the  office  of  the  Bulletin 
and  walked  south  on  Monroe  Street  toward  the  station  two  blocks 
away. 

Musser  having  set  his  trap  by  the  fake  telephone  message,  left 
Bryant  &  Cackley's  saloon  overcoat-less  and  ready  for  action.  Quickly 
he  moved  to  the  Interurban  cigar  store  which  adjoins  the  station. 
There  he  waited  in  ambush  for  his  victim. 

Person  reached  the  interurban  station  and  made  a  search  for 
Kirk,  who  was  nowhere  to  be  seen.  After  waiting  four  or  five  minutes 


32  HISTORY  OF  THE   CARL   E.    PERSON    CASE 

on  the  platform,  Person  turned  his  steps  toward  his  office  and  his  work. 

In  the  cigar  store  the  murder  agent  waited.  To  make  sure  of  his 
decoyed  game  he  asked  Ernest  Mitchell,  the  clerk,  if  the  little  fellow 
coming  down  the  platform  was  Carl  Person.  The  clerk  assured  him 
that  it  was. 

In  appearance  Person  is  mild  and  gentle.  He  looks  younger  even 
than  his  twenty-five  years.  In  height  he  measures  scarcely  five  feet 
four  inches  and  he  weighs  only  one  hundred  and  twenty  pounds. 

Musser  Attacks  Person 

On  to  his  doom  walked  Person,  unsuspecting  the  foul  plan  that 
lured  him  from  his  office  in  the  name  of  his  friend.  Musser  concealed 
himself  in  the  recess  of  the  door.  He  could  see  Person  as  he  came. 
Person  could  not  see  him  and  did  not  suspect  that  he  was  being  way- 
laid. As  Person  passed  the  door  the  crouching  Musser  sprang  from 
his  place  of  hiding,  pounced  upon  Person  from  the  back,  dealt  him  a 
terriffic  blow  upon  the  head  and  felled  him  to  the  pavement.  Musser 
jumped  upon  him.  He  dug  his  great  hard  knees  into  Person's  chest. 
His  strong  left  hand  seized  Person's  throat.  The  fingers  tightened 
around  Person's  windpipe.  Person  gasped  for  breath.  Musser  an- 
swered the  gasps  with  curses.  He  beat  Person's  head  against  the 
brick  pavement.  With  his  great  right  clenched  fist  Musser  rained 
blow  after  blow  upon  Person's  upturned  face.  Blood  flowed.  It  was 
the  warm  blood  of  this  defendant.  His  scalp  was  broken.  The  white 
bone  of  his  skull  showed  plainly.  A  woman  in  front  of  the  interurban 
station  screamed  and  fainted.  Jack  Taylor,  the  big  honest  farmer, 
cried  out: 

"He  is  killing  that  little  fellow !"  and  rushed  over  to  Musser  and 
seized  him  by  the  shoulders.  You  saw  Taylor  on  the  stand.  He  is  a 
powerful  man.  He  tussled  with  and  pulled  at  the  giant  Musser,  but 
he  could  not  budge  him.  Other  strong  men  rushed  to  his  assistance. 
Four  of  them  struggled  fiercely  with  Musser  to  keep  him  from  killing 
Person.  A  voice  from  the  crowd  cried : 

"Let  him  kill  the  s—  of  a  b — ." 

Musser  continued  to  choke  and  batter  the  almost  insensible  Per- 
son. Finally  the  combined  strength  of  four  able-bodied  men,  straining 
themselves  to  the  last  ounce,  brought  Musser  to  his  feet.  The  big 
brute  still  clung  to  Person.  He  held  the  young  man's  throat  in  a 
grip  of  steel  and  when  he  was  unwillingly  pulled  to  his  feet,  he  brought 


HISTORY   OF  THE   CARL   E.    PERSON    CASE  33 

the  half  dead  Person  to  his  feet.  Musser  demanded  of  his  holders 
that  he  be  released.  He  had  work  to  do.  His  job  was  not  finished. 
He  still  held  at  arm's  length  by  the  throat  the  collapsed  Person.  With 
renewed  energy,  shocked  by  the  sight  of  Person,  these  men  fought 
to  compel  Musser  to  release  his  death  grip  upon  Person's  throat. 
They  succeeded.  Person  stood  there,  a  pitiful  sight.  His 
face  was  swollen  and  discolored.  A  stream  of  blood  flowed  from  a 
great  ugly  wound  in  the  head.  The  white  bone  of  his  skull  showed 
ghastly  where  the  scalp  had  been  laid  open.  His  neck  and  throat 
were  discolored  and  there  were  the  imprints  of  fingers  which  were 
silent  evidences  of  the  choking.  He  gasped  for  breath.  His  tongue 
hung  out  of  his  mouth  loosely.  His  body  drooped ;  his  knees  trembling 
and  bent  under  him,  scarcely  upheld  him.  His  eyes  looked  out 
wearily,  weakly.  They  looked  pain.  Person  stood  a  moment.  Then 
he  wabbled  backward,  slowly  and  weakly.  Musser's  appetite  for 
blood  had  been  whetted.  In  the  back  of  his  head  was  the  order  to 
"get"  the  editor  of  The  Strike  Bulletin.  Musser  threw  his  whole 
strength  into  a  final  effort  to  free  himself.  He  swore  lustily.  He 
bellowed  madly  language  too  vile  to  repeat.  Time  after  time  he 
cried  out: 

"Get  out  of  town  before  night  or  I'll  'get'  you." 

Person  was  backing  away.  He  had  been  struck  from  behind. 
The  decoy,  the  ambush,  the  surprise  of  the  assault — all  confused  him. 
It  was  not  a  fight.  There  never  was  a  fight  so  far  as  Carl  Person  was 
concerned.  He  had  never  had  a  chance  from  the  moment  he  left  his 
office,  betrayed  by  the  fake  telephone  message. 

Person  Shoots  Musser 

As  Person  moved  away,  slowly  and  weakly,  Musser  followed  him 
with  glaring  eyes  and  terrible  threats  and  ugly  oaths.  Musser 
wrenched  mightily  with  his  great  shoulders.  He  swung  his  strong 
arms  fiercely.  He  fought  madly,  desperately,  superhumanly,  to  throw 
off  those  who  were  restraining  him  from  the  fulfillment  of  his  master's 
orders.  The  strength  of  the  big  man  triumphed.  He  threw  off  his 
holders.  He  rushed  toward  Person.  Person  heard  and  saw.  He 
stopped.  He  stood  there,  slight,  pale,  weak,  weary,  dripping  with 
blood.  Into  his  whirling  senses  nearer  and  nearer  came  the  shouted 
curses  and  threats — "I'll  'get'  you!  I'll  get  you!  I'll  get  you!  I'll 
get  you!" 


34  HISTORY  OF  THE   CARL  E.    PERSON    CASE 

Through  a  curtain  of  his  own  red  blood  he  saw  the  giant  Musser 
coming.  The  meaning  of  it  all  broke  on  him  in  an  instant — the 
threats  of  the  last  two  years — the  brutal  assaults  in  Decatur  in  April 
and  in  June — the  oath  worded  order  that  he  leave  Clinton  by  the  first 
or  he  would  be  taken  out  feet  forward.  Shots — nine  of  them — in 
rapid  succession,  rang  out.  At  Person's  feet  in  the  streets  of  Clinton 
fell  Musser.  The  murder  agent  was  dead  but  his  master  still  lived ! 

Evidence  Bottled  by  Prosecution 

Hundreds  of  people  witnessed  the  shooting,  many  of  them  live 
in  Clinton.  Others  had  come  to  the  city  to  shdp  and  were  waiting  for 
the  interurban  cars  which  were  to  leave  in  ten  minutes.  The  law 
seized  Person,  dragged  him  to  jail,  threw  him  into  a  steel  cell  and 
locked  the  door.  While  he  lay  in  a  heap,  his  body  racked  with  pain, 
the  law  was  busy  outside.  In  jail  Person  could  do  nothing  for  him- 
self. Nor  at  that  time  was  there  any  one  on  the  outside  to  help  him. 
He  was  at  the  mercy  of  the  officers  of  the  law  whom  he  was  to  learn 
later  were  neither  just  nor  merciful.  He  was  alone.  Even  his  pre- 
sumption of  innocence  did  not  companion  him.  In  the  name  of  the 
people  of  the  state  of  Illinois,  the  sheriff's  office,  the  states  attorney's 
office  and  the  police  department  moved  through  the  crowd  interview- 
ing witnesses  and  securing  their  names  and  addresses.  If  in  doing 
this,  they  had  remembered  that  Person,  too,  was  one  of  the. people  of 
the  state  of  Illinois,  there  would  have  been  no  injustice  in  the  pro- 
ceeding. The  defendant  was  entitled  to  know  the  names  and  ad- 
dresses of  the  witnesses  so  he  could  be  on  an  equal  footing  with  the 
prosecution. 

A  coroner's  jury  was  impanelled.  The  state's  attorney,  the 
coroner  and  the  jury  held  an  unusual  session.  From  the  hundreds  of 
names  of  witnesses  that  they  had  obtained,  they  called  five  to  testify. 
This  was  to  keep  Person  in  the  dark  as  to  whom  the  witnesses  were. 
It  was  a  bottling  up  of  the  evidence.  The  five  witnesses  called  gave 
no  evidence  except  that  Person  shot  and  killed  Musser.  The  shooting 
and  killing  of  a  man  is  not  murder  unless  it  is  done  with  deliberation 
and  with  malice.  A  shooting  may  be  an  accident  or  it  may  be  justi- 
fiable. Yet  without  any  evidence  this  coroner's  jury  verdicted  Person 
murderer  and  directed  that  he  be  held  in  jail  without  bail.  A  grand 
jury  was  convened  which  returned  an  indictment  against  the  defend- 
ant charging  him  with  murder.  The  defendant  is  not  allowed  to 


HISTORY  OF  THE   CARL   E.    PERSON    CASE  35 

appear  before  the  grand  jury,  neither  is  he  allowed  to  be  represented. 
Its  sessions  are  directed  by  the  state's  attorney.  The  law  makes  it 
the  duty  of  the  prosecutor  and  the  grand  jury  to  indorse  upon  the 
indictment  the  names  of  the  witnesses  upon  whose  testimony  the 
grand  jurors  found  the  indictment.  It  is  only  fair  that  the  defendant 
know  the  names  of  the  witnesses  who  have  testified  against  him. 
In  this  case  justice  to  Carl  Person  demanded  that  the  law  be  strictly 
complied  with  because  he  was  in  jail  and  helpless.  The  prosecutor 
deliberately  failed  in  his  duty.  The  law  was  ignored.  Person  was 
not  given  a  complete  list  of  the  witnesses.  I  charge  that  this  was  an 
effort  to  send  Person  to  the  gallows  blindfolded.  While  it  was  done 
in  the  name  of  the  people  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  I  deny  that  the  people 
wanted  it  done. 

Person  Denied  Bail 

Finally  these  tactics  on  the  part  of  the  state's  attorney's  office 
became  a  state-wide  disgrace.  We  sought  a  hearing  for  Person  in 
the  circuit  court  of  De  Witt  county  but  were  unable  to  obtain  it.  We 
knew  that  on  a  hearing  Person  was  entitled  to  be  admitted  to  bail. 
We  knew  that  his  liberty  was  necessary  for  the  proper  preparation 
of  his  defense.  For  over  five  months  he  was  kept  in  jail.  Finding 
that  justice  was  not  available  in  De  Witt  county,  we  were  compelled 
to  resort  to  an  extreme  measure — a  precedent  making  measure.  We 
invoked  the  aid  of  the  criminal  court  of  Cook  county  by  means  of  a 
petition  for  a  writ  of  habeas  corpus.  The  court  issued  the  writ  com- 
manding the  sheriff  of  De  Witt  county  to  bring  the  body  of  Carl 
Person  before  the  bar  of  the  Cook  county  criminal  court  that  he  might 
be  dealt  with  according  to  law  and  justice.  After  hearing  testimony, 
Chief  Justice  Charles  M.  Walker,  of  the  criminal  court  of  Cook  county, 
ordered  that  Person  be  released  on  bond.  This  decision  amounted 
to  a  judicial  finding  that  Person  had  been  in  jail  for  five  and  a  half 
months  without  warrant  in  law. 

Fight  for  Fair  Trial 

A  fair  trial  is  every  free  man's  right.  On  this  rock  we  have  built 
our  justice.  A  trial  by  a  jury  of  one's  peers  is  a  blood  purchased 
American  right.  None  is  so  low  that  to  him  this  right  should  be 
denied.  None  so  powerful  that  he  should  secure  more.  Person 
charged  with  the  most  capital  of  crimes — murder — facing  the  most 


36  HISTORY  OF  THE  CARL  E.  PERSON  CASE 

horrible  of  punishments  if  found  guilty: — death  on  the  gallows — 
petitioned  for  a  trial  by  a  jury  of  his  peers  drawn  from  a  county  un- 
prejudiced toward  him.  De  Witt  county  was  inflamed  with  base, 
low,  coarse  passion — in  part  revenge,  in  part  hate,  in  part  misunder- 
standin.  The  strike  situation  of  over  two  years  duration  had 
made  bitter  the  feeling  against  organized  labor.  The  Illinois  Central 
was  undisputed  master  of  the  politics  of  Clinton.  The  officials  were 
its  political  creatures. 

For  months  the  great  struggle  between  the  Illinois  Central  rail- 
road and  its  striking  employes  made  tense  the  situation  in  Clinton. 
The  town  had  been  turned  into  a  strike  breakers'  camp.  Person  re- 
mained almost  alone  on  the  firing  line,  fighting  for  what  many  thought 
was  a  lost  cause.  The  railroad  had  seen  to  it  that  he  was  not  popular. 
Its  surgeon — one  of  its  payroll  patriots — was  mayor  of  the  city.  And 
yet  the  state's  attorney  wanted  to  try  Person  in  De  Witt  county.  The 
prosecution  fought  the  defendant's  demand  for  a  change  of  venue. 
Illinois  beheld  the  sad  spectacle  of  a  county  wide  election  to  determine 
whether  or  not  a  man  about  to  be  tried  for  his  life  should  be  given  a 
chance  to  present  his  cause  to  an  open  minded  jury  free  from  pre- 
judice. Thirty  days  the  court  solemnly  gave  for  the  gathering  of 
affidavits  in  which  the  citizens  of  the  county  voted  either  to  give 
Person  a  chance  for  his  life  by  granting  him  a  change  of  venue  to 
another  county  or  condemning  him  to  be  tried  in  De  Witt  county. 
The  people's  time  and  money  were  spent.  It  was  a  wild  fight.  Five 
hundred  and  twelve  voted  to  give  him  a  chance  for  his  life.  Four 
hundred  and  sixty-seven  voted  to  support  the  state's  attorney  in  his 
demand  that  Person  be  tried  in  De  Witt  county.  And  by  the  in- 
dustry of  our  electioneering  in  this  strangest  of  all  elections,  we, 
gentlemen  of  the  jury,  are  here  in  Logan  county  asking  for  justice. 

Spectacular  Attempt  to  Defeat  Justice 

Gentlemen  of  the  jury,  each  of  you  promised  me  that  you  would 
not  be  swayed  by  sympathy,  that  you  would  be  unaffected  by  passion 
in  the  making  up  of  your  verdict.  I  told  you  that  the  defendant 
whose  life  blood  is  the  issue  here,  did  not  ask  for  mercy,  that  he 
wanted  only  justice.  Surely  the  people  of  the  State  of  Illinois  are  not 
crying  for  the  defendant's  blood  with  a  passion  so  lawless  that  they 
would  wring  from  a  jury  a  verdict  of  "guilty"  based  upon  passion  and 


HISTORY  OF  THE   CARL   E.    PERSON    CASE  27 

sympathy.    Mercy  always  pleads  for  the  defendant.    She  never  seeks 
revenge. 

Did  I  not  ask  you  if  the  old  father  of  the  defendant  came  here, 
might  not  his  presence  stir  within  you  emotions  unfair  to  justice? 
You  answered  that  you  would  render  justice  unmoved  and  unswayed 
by  passion.  Each  of  you  so  answered.  At  that  time,  in  the  begin- 
ning of  this  trial,  no  one  was  here  except  the  lawyers  and  officers  of  the 
court.  You  were  selected  and  sworn  to  try  the  case.  Instantly  the 
stage  was  set !  The  prosecution  brought  inside  the  rail  a  lonely  woman 
in  widow's  weeds  accompanied  by  three  sweet  faced  children.  It  was 
a  brutalization  of  justice;  it  was  a  cold-blooded  attempt  to  so  move 
your  hearts  that  your  heads  might  be  controlled  against  your  reasons. 
It  was  cruel,  cruel  to  the  widow,  it  was  worse  than  cruel  to  the  children 
— it  was  ghoulish.  It  chilled  my  heart — this  unholy  parade.  The 
bringing  in  of  the  children  of  the  deceased's  blood  and  the  widow  of 
his  bed  and  compelling  them  to  listen  to  the  terrible  story,  shocked 
every  finer  sense  of  my  manhood.  You  recall  when  the  first  eyewit- 
ness to  the  tragedy  placed  on  the  witness  stand  by  the  prosecution, 
reached  the  point  in  his  testimony  that  dealt  with  the  terrible  oaths 
which  Musser  shouted  at  Person,  I  could  stand  it  no  longer  and  I 
rose  and  moved  the  court  to  order  those  tender  minded  children  from 
the  court  room.  My  motion  was  not  based  on  law.  It  was  an  act 
of  simple  humanity.  The  children  had  not  done  any  wrong.  Their 
lives  before  them,  I  did  not  want  burned  into  their  souls  memories  of 
their  father  that  might  mar  their  peace  of  mind  during  all  of  their  to- 
morrows. The  prosecution  was  silent,  the  court  caught  the  meaning 
in  an  instant  and  he  directed  the  sheriff  to  remove  the  little  ones  at 
once.  Inside  the  rail  at  your  feet  the  sad  faced,  black  garbed  silent 
woman  still  sat,  alone  in  her  grief,  an  unwilling  spectator  at  an  inqui- 
sition that  must  have  wrung  blood  from  her  heart  as  it  did  tears  from 
her  eyes.  Oh  cowardly  ambition,  that  would  so  mutilate  and  torture 
the  grief  stricken  one  and  so  violate  justice  in  her  own  temple.  There 
have  been  times  in  the  trial  of  criminal  cases  when  those  representing 
the  life  at  stake  have  in  their  zeal  to  save  it  brought  to  the  bar  of  the 
court  in  the  presence  of  the  jury,  the  loved  ones  of  the  living  defend- 
ant, but  when  and  where  has  an  honorable  prosecution  so  made  a  show 
place  of  the  court  room  and  sought  by  foul  and  unworthy  means  to 
wring  from  the  emotions  of  men  a  verdict  that  their  unmoved  con- 


38  HISTORY  OF  THE   CARL   E.    PERSON    CASE 

science  and  brains  could  not  justify.  I  did  not  blame  the  unhappy 
widow  nor  the  fatherless  children.  They  did  not  leave  their  home  and 
come  here  of  their  own  free  will.  Who  will  dare  say  that  they  wel- 
comed the  parts  they  were  compelled  to  play?  They  served  a  purpose 
unknown  to  them;  they  came  when  they  were  commanded,  led  by  the 
prosecutor  and  placed  within  the  rail — there  held  hostages  to  unfair- 
ness. 

It  was  thought  that  because  you  are  red  blooded  men,  with  fire- 
sides at  which  are  children  and  wives,  for  whom  you  are  now  lonely, 
that  you  would  rush  blindly  into  the  pitfall  and  in  passion  vote  away 
the  life  of  this  defendant.  How  little,  Oh  how  little,  of  the  human  heart 
do  some  men  know.  How  small  do  they  set  down  the  minds  of  men ! 
Love  begets  love  and  your  very  devotion  to  your  firesides  makes  you 
stand  aghast  at  this  play  upon  the  sympathies. 

Comerford  Declines  Unfair  Advantage 

Our  solicitude  for  the  widow  and  children  has  been  genuine.  I 
closed  the  door  when  it  was  unwittingly  opened  by  the  prosecution. 
The  door  they  opened  was  one  of  advantage  to  us.  It  was  an  oppor- 
tunity to  place  upon  the  records  of  this  court  that  all  the  world  might 
see,  the  story  of  the  private  life  of  the  deceased.  The  blunder  of  States 
Attorney  Williams  opened  the  door.  You  will  remember  a  line  of 
questions  started  by  Prosecutor  Williams  when  he  asked  whether  or 
not  the  widow  was  at  the  time  of  the  tragedy  living  with  the  deceased. 
She  and  her  children  were  sitting  here  when  the  question  was  asked. 
I  objected  and  the  court  sustained  the  objection.  I  said  we  would  not 
let  the  door  be  opened  upon  the  private  life  of  the  deceased.  Special 
Prosecutor  Herrick  knows  that  I  know  the  awful  story  which  I  might 
have  forced  into  this  record,  dealing  with  the  private  life  of  the  dead 
man,  had  I  been  willing  to  take  advantage  of  the  opportunity  thus 
thrust  upon  me  through  the  blunder  of  his  associate.  There  are  some 
things  more  important  than  winning  a  law  suit  even  when  the  winning 
of  that  law  suit  means  the  saving  of  a  life. 

Fair  Deal  Denied  Person 

Immediately  after  the  tragedy  Carl  Person  was  dragged  to  jail. 
He  was  covered  with  blood.  He  lay  in  a  heap,  torn  by  pain.  He  had 
been  beaten  almost  to  death.  Attorney  Miller  visited  him  within  a 
half  hour.  Miller  realized  that  one  of  the  important  things  which 


HISTORY   OF   THE   CARL   E.    PERSON    CASE  39 

should  be  done  was  to  preserve  the  evidence  of  Person's  physical  con- 
dition. This  evidence  would  show  the  murderous  assault  made  on 
Person  and  would  be  material  and  essential  in  justifying  the  shooting 
and  killing  of  Musser.  Miller  knew  that  months  would  go  by  (just  as 
nine  of  them  have  have  gone  by)  before  the  trial.  In  the  meantime  the 
wounds,  the  bruises  and  discolorations  would  yield  to  time  and  med- 
ical treatment  and  disappear.  He  knew  that  the  prosecution  would 
make  light  of  the  injuries  Person  received.  Miller  resolved  to  pre- 
serve the  truth.  You  have  heard  the  prosecution  deny  that  Person 
was  brutally  and  murderously  assaulted.  Miller  made  a  demand 
that  a  photograph  be  taken  of  Person  immediately  after  the  tragedy. 
A  camera  would  be  neither  a  witness  for  the  defense  nor  for  the 
prosecution.  A  camera  preserves  accurately  and  without  prejudice 
or  partizanship,  that  which  comes  within  its  focus.  Its  truth-seeing 
eye  sees  and  its  sensitized  film  records  with  integrity.  The  photo- 
graph would  have  taken  the  stand  for  justice.  It  would  have  been 
truth  in  the  witness  chair.  The  sheriff  of  DeWitt  County  denied  the 
defendant  this  important  and  necessary  legal  right.  We  were  not 
allowed  to  take  the  photogarph.  The  sheriff  is  part  of  the  legal  ma- 
chinery of  the  county.  The  States  Attorney  who  sits  here  at  the 
head  of  counsel  for  the  prosecution,  was  and  is  the  legal  adviser  of 
the  sheriff.  As  a  lawyer  he  knew  that  it  was  only  a  right  we  asked 
and  that  it  was  a  necessary  and  important  right — a  justice  making 
right.  Is  this  a  prosecution  or  a  persecution? 

Criminal  Misuse  of  Subpoena 

Scores  of  witnesses  were  subpoenaed  here  by  the  States  Attor- 
ney. They  were  compelled  to  report  to  the  prosecutor  every  morn- 
ing at  the  opening  of  court.  All  of  them  had  been  interviewed  by  the 
States  Attorney  before  they  were  brought  here.  Many  of  them  had 
testified  before  the  grand  jury  which  returned  this  indictment.  The 
writ  of  subpoena  served  on  them  by  the  prosecutor  commanded  them 
to  appear  and  testify  on  behalf  of  the  prosecution.  These  witnesses 
were  kept  in  the  corridor  of  the  court  room  day  after  day.  Finally 
the  prosecution  closed  its  case  without  calling  dozens  of  them  to 
the  stand.  I  ask  why?  Why  this  misuse  of  power?  Was  it  acci- 
dental? Nine  months  have  come  and  gone.  A  coroner's  jury  and  a 
grand  jury  have  acted  in  this  case.  The  prosecution  has  had  the 
police  department,  the  sheriff's  office  and  the  great  power  of  the 


40  HISTORY   OF  THE   CARL   E.    PERSON    CASE 

office  of  States'  Attorney  to  learn  what  the  testimony  of  these  wit- 
nesses would  be.  After  all  of  this  scores  of  witnesses  are  subpoenaed 
by  the  State.  You  are  promised  that  they  will  testify  for  the  state. 
Was  it  the  purpose  of  the  prosecutor  to  intimidate  and  brow  beat 
these  witnesses?  Was  it  a  campaign  of  terrorization?  Maybe  these 
witnesses  refused  to  testify  in  accordance  with  the  views  of  the  state's 
attorney.  Then  you,  the  jury  are  to  be  given  only  the  testimony  of 
witnesses  who  fit  in  with  the  prosecutor's  scheme  of  conviction.  You 
are  to  be  denied  the  truth  and  the  denial  comes  from  the  man  who 
represents  the  people  of  the  State  of  Illinois.  Or  were  these  wit- 
nesses people  whose  testimony  the  prosecutor  knew  would  clear  the 
defendant  and  notwithstanding  this  fact,  were  subpoenaed  by  him? 
If  so  the  writ  of  subpoena  was  criminally  used.  By  its  use  the 
prosecution  promised  witnesses  they  did  not  expect  to  call.  The  only 
purpose  such  conduct  could  serve  would  be  to  place  in  the  control  of 
the  state  the  witnesses  for  the  defense.  Remembering  the  power  of 
the  legal  machinery  under  the  control  of  the  state's  attorney,  its  in- 
fluence over  citizens  living  within  DeWitt  county,  the  fear  of  the 
law  entertained  by  the  humble,  the  limit  to  which  a  conscienceless 
prosecutor  might  go  should  his  ambition  be  thwarted,  we  have  the 
measure  and  meaning  of  this  indefensible  move. 

] 
Testimony  of  City  Physician  Pugh 

Doctor  Pugh  is  the  city  physician  of  Clinton,  111.  The  tragedy 
took  place  on  the  street  immediately  in  front  of  his  office.  Dr.  Pugh 
was  in  his  office  and  saw  the  entire  lamentable  affair.  He  it  was  wtyo 
came  to  Musser  and  applied  medical  aid.  Dr.  Pugh  went  to  the 
hospital  in  the  ambulance  and  on  the  way  examined  the  gunshpt 
wounds  in  the  body  of  Musser.  Dr.  Pugh  it  was  pronounced  Musser 
dead  when  the  ambulance  reached  the  hospital.  Returning  to  his 
office,  he  was  called  by  the  sheriff  to  wait  on  Carl  Person  at  the 
County  jail.  He  responded  and  examined  Person  within  thirty  min- 
utes after  the  shooting.  Dr.  Pugh  testified  before  the  coroner's 
jury.  Dr.  Pugh  testified  before  the  grand  jury.  Dr.  Pugh  was 
officially  engaged  by  DeWitt  County  and  paid  out  of  the  county  funds 
to  make  a  post  mortem  examination  upon  the  body  of  Tony  Musser. 
Dr.  Pugh  made  the  only  post  mortem  examination,  probing  the  nine 
bullet  wounds,  determining  and  fixing  the  cause  of  death.  Dr.  Pugh 
was  subpoenaed  by  the  prosecution  to  testify  in  the  name  of  the 


HISTORY  OF  THE   CARL   E.    PERSON    CASE  41 

people  of  the  State  of  Illinois.  Surely  his  testimony  was  important 
to  truth  and  justice.  He  had  accurate  and  direct  knowledge  of  the 
tragedy  as  an  eyewitness.  As  a  physician  he  had  examined  Person  at 
the  request  of  the  sheriff  and  could  tell  scientifically  and  accurately 
the  nature  and  extent  of  Person's  injuries.  Having  made  the 
post  mortem  for  the  people  of  the  state  of  Illinois  he  alone  knew  the 
course  the  bullets  took  upon  entering  the  body  of  Tony  Musser.  He 
along  knew  the  exact  medical  cause  of  death.  Now  Doctor  Pugh  is  an 
honorable  gentleman,  a  physician  of  the  highest  standing.  He  comes 
here  with  official  confirmation  of  his  honesty  and  skill  as  a  physician. 
He  is,  as  I  have  observed,  the  city  physician  of  Clinton,  Illinois.  He 
was,  as  you  know,  selected  and  paid  by  the  county  to  officially  make 
the  autopsy.  He  has  been  kept  in  the  corridors  of  this  court  house  for 
five  days.  Finally,  to  the  amazement  and  wonder  of  every  one,  the 
prosecution  rested  its  case  without  calling  Dr.  Pugh  to  the  witness 
stand.  Was  the  prosecution  serving  truth  in  this  concealment  of  evi- 
dence? Were  they  playing  fair  with  you  in  keeping  his  testimony  from 
you?  Were  they  giving  the  defendant  the  square  deal — the  shiboleth 
of  our  criminal  jurisprudence?  Is  this  the  application  of  the  golden 
rule  to  your  fellow  man  whose  life  is  in  the  balance?  Men  of  Illinois, 
I  fear  to  dwell  more  upon  this  point.  Brazen  injustice,  such  as  this, 
inflames  the  honest  man's  mind  too  much.  I  want  a  dispassionate 
verdict. 

We  called  Dr.  Pugh.  We  had  no  fear  of  truth.  Truth  is  our  de- 
fense. He  who  should  have  been  called  by  the  prosecution 
took  the  witness  stand  at  our  request,  after  the  prosecution  had 
subpoenaed  him  and  refused  to  place  him  on  the  stand.  Without 
previous  conference  with  him,  we,  the  defendant  and  his  counsel,  heard 
for  the  first  time,  Dr.  Pugh's  story  at  the  same  time  you  did.  No 
word  of  attack  did  the  prosecution  dare  direct  at  the  evidence  of  the 
fearless  and  truth  telling  physician.  Had  he  been  guilty  of  the  slight- 
est misstatement  of  the  facts  they  had  his  testimony  taken  before  the 
grand  jury  and  could  have  impeached  him  by  calling  the  grand  jurors. 
Had  his  reputation  for  truth  and  veracity  in  the  community  in  which 
he  has  lived  not  been  the  very  highest,  they  could  and  would  have 
brought  witnesses  here  to  attack  him. 

Assault  on  Truth  Telling  John  Taylor 

John  Taylor  was  subpoenaed  by  the  state's  attorney  and  com- 


42  HISTORY  OF  THE  CARL  E.  PERSON  CASE 

pelled  to  wait  around  Lincoln  day  after  day  when  he  would  have  pre- 
ferred being  at  his  work  and  with  his  family.  Taylor  had  testified 
before  the  grand  jury.  Taylor  was  the  man  who  shouted  "My  God! 
that  big  man  is  killing  the  little  man  under  him!"  Tayor  was  the 
first  man  who  went  to  the  rescue  of  Person.  He  was  in  the  best  posi- 
tion to  give  you  the  whole  truth.  He  did  not  know  either  Musser  or 
Person.  He  was  not  placed  on  the  stand  by  the  prosecution  although 
subpoenaed  to  testify  for  the  state.  ,We  put  him  on  the  stand.  He 
told  the  truth  in  his  simple,  homely  way.  It  aggravated  the  prosecu- 
tion. Taylor  is  only  a  tenant  farmer.  This  fact  seemed  to  give  the 
prosecution  consolation  and  courage.  It  seems  that  from  their  point 
of  view  the  weight  to  be  given  to  the  testimony  of  a  witness  should  be 
determined  by  his  material  prosperity.  Of  course  this  is  not  the  law 
in  the  state  that  gave  to  the  Union  the  first  citizen  of  our  civilization,  a 
rail  splitter  sprung  from  the  loins  of  tenant  country  people.  For 
his  service  to  justice  Taylor  was  marked  for  the  most  bitter  attack  I 
have  ever  known  to  be  made  upon  a  witness  in  a  court  room.  Failing 
to  trap  him  into  a  single  inconsistency  they  resolved  to  annihilate 
Taylor.  A  dozen  scandal  mongers,  neighborhood  gossips,  cheerfully 
came  to  the  witness  stand  and  swore  Taylor's  reputation  for  truth  and 
veracity  was  bad.  They  were  not  only  willing  witnesses  but  they  were 
eager  witnesses.  They  seemed  to  enjoy  their  part  in  the  cruel  and 
dastardly  attempt  to  destroy  Taylor's  character.  On  cross  examina- 
tion, I  asked  each  of  these  character  assassins  by  whom  they  heard 
Taylor's  general  reputation  for  truth  and  veracity  assailed.  Each  of 
the  dozen  named  the  eleven  others.  It  was  an  infamous  round  robin 
of  willing  breakers  of  the  commandment.  "Thou  shalt  not  bear  false 
witness  against  thy  neighbor."  I  next  sought  to  find  the  motive  for 
this  unthinkable  attack  upon  Taylor.  By  questions  I  learned  that 
these  men  were  grocers  and  butchers  and  storekeepers  to  whom 
Taylor  at  one  time  or  another  in  his  life  had  been  indebted.  I  sought 
to  find  out  what  form  and"  style  of  lies  Taylor  had  told  upon  which 
they  based  the  merciless  slander.  From  the  very  lips  of  the  witnesses 
you  learned  and  I  learned  that  Taylor,  having  become  their  debtor, 
made  promises  of  payment  that  he  could  not,  because  of  his  poverty, 
fulfill.  Adversity  and  the  human  impulse  to  feed  his  children  had 
wrecked  Taylor's  reputation  with  these  ghouls  who  now  enjoyed  the 
chance  to  publicly  brand  him  a  liar.  For  his  poverty  I  sympathize 
with  Taylor  as  I  do  with  all  those  who  are  poverty  stricken.  On  this 


HISTORY   OF  THE   CARL   E.    PERSON    CASE  43 

attack  they  rely  and  will  ask  you  to  disregard  Taylor's  testimony. 
Why  didn't  they  bring  the  grand  jurors  here  and  impeach  Taylor's 
testimony  given  before  the  grand  jury?  Taylor  testified  to  the  truth 
before  the  grand  jury  just  as  he  did  here.  If  there  had  been  a  single 
variance  between  Taylor's  testimony  before  the  grand  jury  and  his 
evidence  here,  the  grand  jurors  would  have  been  brought  here  and 
Taylor  would  have  been  impeached. 

Grand  Jury  Used  Against  Witness  Foist 

Bert  Foist,  a  bartender,  worked  for  Dick  Bryant.  It  was  to  this 
saloon  that  Musser  came  on  the  afternoon  of  the  tragedy.  Foist 
testified  before  the  grand  jury.  There  he  said,  in  response  to  ques- 
tions, that  Musser  came  into  the  saloon  shortly  before  the  tragedy  and 
asked  to  be  allowed  to  leave  his  overcoat  there.  Before  the  grand 
jury  he  had  not  been  asked  about  the  telephone  conversation  and  as 
a  consequence  did  not  volunteer  the  information.  The  state  went 
after  him  on  cross  examination  and  asked  him  why  he  did  not  testify 
about  the  telephone  conversation  before  the  grand  jury.  Foist,  with 
straightforwardness  said  that  after  the  tragedy  he  was  told  by  the 
owner  of  the  saloon,  his  boss,  not  to  say  anything  about  the  fact  that 
Musser  had  used  the  phone  in  the  saloon  to  decoy  Person  to  the  scene 
of  the  tragedy.  The  saloon  keeper's  desire  to  keep  the  saloon  out  of 
the  affair  after  the  terrible  results  that  followed  the  telephoning  does 
not  require  any  comment  from  me.  Did  you  not  hear  the  prosecution 
defend  the  saloon  keeper  and  attack  the  bar  keeper?  Then,  too,  you 
will  remember  that  they  brought  no  witnesses  to  attack  the  reputation 
of  Dr.  Pugh  as  a  truth  teller.  Neither  did  they  bring  grand  jurors 
to  impeach  him.  In  the  case  of  John  Taylor  they  did  not  bring  grand 
jurors  to  impeach  him  but  they  brought  forth  a  dozen  men  to  attack 
his  reputation  for  truth  and  veracity.  Now  that  Foist  was  to  be  at- 
tacked, injustice  plays  still  another  role.  No  witnesses  are  brought 
forth  to  question  Foist's  reputation  for  truth  and  veracity,  but  the 
entire  grand  jury  are  solemnly  paraded  before  you  and  each  testified 
from  memory,  months  old,  that  Foist  did  not  tell  of  the  telephone 
message  in  his  testimony  before  them. 

A  Blind  Chief  of  Police 

Chief  of  Police  Burr,  of  Illinois  Central-owned  Clinton,  took  the 


44  HISTORY  OF  THE  CARL  E.  PERSON  CASE 

witness  stand.  He  testified  that  he  went  to  the  saloon  of  Dick  Bryant 
after  the  shooting  and  got  the  overcoat  and  kept  it  in  his  possession 
until  the  present  time.  I  asked  him  whose  overcoat  it  was.  His 
answer  still  echoes  in  my  ears.  "I  haven't  the  slightest  idea."  This, 
though  a  small  link  in  the  chain,  coming  as  it  did  from  the  chief  of 
police  of  Clinton,  like  the  proverbial  straw,  shows  the  way  of  the  wind. 
Did  that  wind  blow  from  a  prosecution  or  from  a  persecution? 

Person's  Good  Character  Established 

That  you  might  know  the  kind  and  manner  of  man  this  defendant 
has  been  and  is,  I  called  from  stores  and  shops,  from  the  banks  and 
from  the  professions,  witnesses  to  speak  the  truth  concerning  Person's 
character.  The  first,  I  believe,  was  a  banker.  He  said  that  Person's 
reputation  for  peacefulness  and  good  citizenship  could  not  be  better. 
The  malignancy  and  the  unkindness  of  the  prosecution  hissed  out  on 
cross  examination  a  question :  "Even  so,  you  wouldn't  associate  with 
him,  would  you,  Mr.  Marvel?"  Special -Prosecutor  ex-Judge  Herrick 
was  the  interrogator.  Ah,  Herrick,  I  wonder  if  you-  fully  appreciate 
the  meanness  of  your  tone  and  your  words.  Maybe  the  motive  for 
your  course  is  the  retainer  that  made  you  special  prosecutor. 

Vicious  Cross  Examination  of  Person 

There  is  an  old  saw  that  any  fool  can  ask  questions  that  a  wise 
man  cannot  answer.  Cross  examination  exemplifies  the  truth  of  this 
proverb.  It  takes  a  bitter  questioner,  with  a  superlatively  vindictive 
motive  to  be  willing  to  put  a  defendant  whose  life  is  at  stake  on  the 
rack  of  questions  double  in  form.  One  can  ask  a  witness  on  cross 
examination  whether  he  has  stopped  beating  his  wife  yet  and  then 
command  the  witness  to  answer  yes  or  no.  If  the  witness  says  "yes," 
it  means  he  used  to  beat  his  wife,  but  doesn't  any  more.  If  he  answers 
"no,"  it  means  he  is  still  a  wife-beater.  Question  after  question  was 
shot  at  Carl  Person  on  cross  examination,  followed  by  a  shout  demand- 
ing that  the  defendant  answer  yes  or  no.  Even  the  court  was  touched 
by  the  unfairness  of  the  prosecution  toward  a  man  on  trial  for  his  life. 
This  court  has  been  a  stern  one  and  a  severe  one  and  yet  the  humanity 
of  the  judge  broke  through  the  judicial  veneer  and  he  expanded  the 
rule — he  almost  in  a  technical  sense,  violated  it,  he  said :  "Yes,  Carl, 


HISTORY  OF  THE   CARL   E.    PERSON    CASE  45 

you  can  explain."  In  passing  observe  the  language  of  the  court,  the 
man  whom  the  prosecution  styled  coldblooded  murderer,  pursued 
even  to  the  witness  stand,  is  addressed  by  the  presiding  judge  as 
"Carl !"  He  did  not  call  him  "the  defendant"  nor  the  "prisoner."  It 
was  an  unconscious  bit  of  human  feeling,  slipping  out  from  under  the 
judicial  mask.  Carl  Person  won  it  from  the  court,  not  by  the  words 
of  his  counsel,  but  by  the  calm  and  dignified  way  he  has  stood  up 
under  the  most  terrific  strain  a  human  being  can  undergo. 

Prosecutor's  Effort  to  Suppress  Evidence 

In  the  story  of  Helen  Jones,  who  testified  here  the  other  day, 
we  find  the  most  disgraceful  disclosure  that  ever  marred  the  fairness 
and  justice  of  a  prosecution  begun  in  the  name  of  the  people  of  the 
state  of  Illinois.  Helen  Jones  is  a  young  newspaper  woman  of 
Clinton.  She  lives  with  her  father  and  mother  and  brothers  and 
sisters.  She  witnessed  the  shooting.  The  prosecutor  sent  for  her. 
She  told  her  story.  It  was  j;he  truth.  It  vindicated  the  defendant. 
It  justified  Carl  Person  in  killing  Tony  Musser.  The  thought  of 
being  called  upon  to  testify  in  a  sensational  murder  case  frightened 
her.  She  asked  the  prosecutor  to  excuse  her  from  testifying.  He 
said  he  would  hear  her  story  first.  She  told  it  to  him.  She  was  in 
the  office  of  State's  Attorney  Williams  at  the  time.  After  hearing 
her  story  he  told  her  that  he  would  excuse  her.  He  kept  his  word. 
She  was  not  subpoenaed.  He  did  more.  He  gave  her  some  advice. 
She  was  told  not  to  tell  Attorney  Comerford  what  she  knew  about 
the  case,  that  if  she  did  the  defense  would  call  her  as  a  witness.  He 
advised  her  to  be  silent  if  she  wanted  to  escape  the  ordeal  of  attending 
court  as  a  witness.  A  rumor  brought  to  my  ears  the  name  of  Helen 
Jones.  I  went  out  in  an  automobile  with  Attorney  Miller  to  find  her. 
It  was  in  the  afternoon.  We  came  upon  her  on  the  public  street 
about  two  blocks  from  her  home.  Mr.  Miller  introduced  me  to  her. 
I  asked  her  to  step  into  the  car  and  ride  to  her  home.  She  did.  There 
I  met  her  father.  I  talked  to  her.  She  told  me  the  full  story  as  you 
heard  it  on  the  witness  stand.  I  told  her  it  was  her  duty  to  bear  wit- 
ness to  the  truth — that  a  life  was  at  stake.  I  advised  her  to  counsel 
with  her  father  and  assured  her  that  he  would  agree  that  it  would  be 
unwomanly  to  shirk  a  responsibility  so  important  to  justice  for 
another  human  being.  We  subpoenaed  her.  On  the  witness  stand, 


46  HISTORY  OF  THE  CARL  E.  PERSON  CASE 

with  the  candidness  of  a  girl  and  the  courage  of  a  woman  she  told 
the  truth.  From  her  lips  came  not  only  a  vindication  of  the  defendant, 
but  a  terrible  indictment  against  Prosecutor  Williams.  She  charged 
State's  Attorney  Williams  with  the  unpardonable  crime  of  trying  to 
suppress  evidence  in  a  murder.trial.  Special  Prosecutor  Herrick  was 
assigned  to  the  task  of  breaking  down  her  statement.  He  failed 
utterly,  miserably.  Truth  in  the  mouth  of  a  girl  baffled  the  astuteness 
and  cunning  of  the  cross  examiner.  Defeated  in  his  efforts  to  confuse 
Helen  Jones,  Judge  Herrick  took  another  tack.  After  consultation 
with  State's  Attorney  Williams  and  State's  Attorney  Smith,  Mr.  Her- 
rick began  to  lay  the  foundation  for  the  impeachment  of  Helen  Jones. 
He  asked  her  who  was  present  besides  State's  Attorney  Williams  and 
herself  in  the  state's  attorney's  office  at  the  time  Mr.  Williams  told 
her  not  to  disclose  her  evidence  to  the  attorneys  for  the  defense.  She 
answered  promptly  and  directly.  Her  answer  was,  "Mr.  Pierpont 
Wright,  the  state's  attorney's  stenographer."  The  telling  of  truth 
on  her  part  was  fraught  with  danger.  She  not  only  laid  herself  open 
to  impeachment,  but  to  an  indictment  and  conviction  for  the  crime 
of  perjury.  If  she  falsified  it  was  obvious  that  there  were  two  wit- 
nesses who  could  assail  her,  one  State's  Attorney  Williams,  the  other 
his  stenographer,  Mr.  Wright.  Both  were  in  the  court  room  when 
Mi  s  Jones  gave  her  testimony.  From  the  moment  Helen  Jones  left 
the  stand  until  this  case  was  closed  I  waited  expectantly  for  the  state's 
attorney  and  Mr.  Wright  to  take  the  stand.  Both  have  been  here 
every  day.  The  charge  of  Helen  Jones  stands  uncontradicted.  Those 
who  could  have  challenged  it  if  it  were  untrue  have  been  silent.  What 
is  the  deduction?  Helen  Jones  told  the  truth.  I  confess  that  I  am 
not  quite  able  to  grasp,  to  the  fullness,  the  meaning  of  this  conduct 
on  the  part  of  the  prosecution.  It  staggers  my  understanding.  Moral 
turpitude  is  the  unit  by  which  we  measure  crime.  This  act,  measured 
by  its  moral  turpitude,  is  too  terrible  to  contemplate  calmly.  I  say 
to  you,  sir,  State's  Attorney  Williams,  that  if  you  had  succeeded  in 
silencing  Helen  Jones  and  keeping  from  the  jury  the  truth  as  she 
told  it  here  and  this  jury  had  found  the  defendant,  Carl  Person,  guilty 
and  sentenced  him  to  die,  then  sir,  in  the  judgment  of  God,  you  would 
have  been  a  murderer!  If  justice  had  miscarried  through  the  success 
of  your  efforts,  on  your  death  bed  the  angel  of  truth  would  have 
dangled  before  your  eyes  the  swinging  corpse  of  Carl  Person.  I  for- 
give you,  but  I  am  sorry  for  you. 


HISTORY  OF  THE   CARL  E.    PERSON    CASE  47 

Barnet  a  Modern  Ananias 

In  football  they  have  used  these  many  years  a  formation  known 
as  the  flying  wedge.  Somewhere  I  have  read  that  this  idea  comes  out 
of  a  military  maneuver  known  to  the  ancient  Greeks.  The  plan  is 
to  put  your  strength  at  the  apex  of  a  V  and  make  your  attack  by 
battering  through  the  enemy's  line.  The  prosecution  designed  a 
flying  wedge  and  put  at  the  point  of  attack  its  strongest  witness.  J. 
A.  Barnet  is  the  name  of  the  wedge  man.  He  said  he  was  a  farmer. 
I  know  you  are  farmers.  Farmers  haven't  any  copyright  on  truth  any 
more  than  other  people  have.  You  know  that.  So  do  I.  I  say  that 
J.  A.  Barnet  in  his  testimony,  out-Ananiased  Ananias.  His  testimony 
hasn't  a  single  symptom  of  truth  about  it.  He  it  was  who  swore  that 
Person  struck  at  Musser.  One  hundred  and  thirty  witnesses  have 
testified  here  and  Barnet  alone  makes  this  statement.  This  might 
be  a  mistake — an  honest  mistake,  if  it  were  the  only  statement  made 
by  Barnet  planned  to  hang  Person  and  designed  in  falsehood.  But 
Barnet  went  further.  He  said  that  when  Musser  and  Person  were 
on  the  pavement,  Person  had  his  legs  wrapped  around  Musser's  and 
his  hands  in  Musser's  hair.  One  hundred  and  thirty  witnesses  testified 
and  not  one  of  them  corroborated  Barnet.  He  let  his  disguise  slip. 
He  went  too  far,  even  for  a  perjurer.  He  said  that  Person  was  not 
hurt,  that  there  was  but  a  slight  pin  scratch  upon  his  face  and  that 
just  before  the  shooting  Person  deliberately  smeared  the  few  drops 
of  blood  over  his  face  to  make  it  appear  that  he  had  been  badly  beaten. 
Barnet  would  have  you  believe  that  Person,  in  the  moment  just  before 
he  shot  Musser,  was  preparing  his  defense.  No  other  witness  at  the 
trial  corroborated  Ananias  Barnet.  Dozens  of  witnesses  for  both  the 
state  and  the  defense,  including  doctors,  swore  to  the  terrible  beating 
Person  received. 

Witness  Moore  Trapped 

Joseph  Moore  followed  Barnet  on  the  witness  stand.  He  testi- 
fied on  behalf  of  the  prosecution.  A  week  after  the  shooting  he  made 
an  affidavit  to  Mr.  George  Kavanaugh  in  which  he  completely  exon- 
erated the  defendant.  Nine  months  after  the  tragedy  he  comes  here 
and  brazenly  and  boldly  tries  to  hang  this  defendant.  On  cross  ex- 
amination I  produced  the  affidavit.  I  compelled  Moore  to  admit  that 
it  bore  his  signature ;  that  he  read  it  before  he  signed  it,  that  he  was 


48  HISTORY  OF  THE   CARL  E.    PERSON    CASE 

sworn  to  its  truth  by  Mr.  Kavanaugh.  Strange  how  truth  and  memory 
change !  I  am  wondering  what  influences  have  been  at  work  that  so 
completely  changed  Mr.  Moore's  version  of  the  shooting.  Surely  it 
was  fresher  in  his  mind  a  we^k  after  it  happened  than  it  is  now. 
Moore  makes  no  explanation.  He  sullenly  insists  that  he  is  telling 
the  truth  now.  Mr.  Moore  must  remember  that  to  be  a  good  liar  one 
must  have  a  good  memory.  He  should  cultivate  the  latter  before  he 
practises  the  former. 

I  put  Mr.  Kavanaugh  on  the  stand.  He  told  you  how  he  had 
come  to  Chicago  to  attend  the  New  Year's  celebration  at  the  Press 
Club,  of  which  both  Mr.  Kavanaugh  and  myself  have  the  honor  of 
being  members,  that  out  of  friendship  for  me  he  consented  to  investi- 
gate this  case.  Mr.  Kavanaugh  is  a  newspaper  man  of  training  and 
experience.  I  did  not  want  to  employ  a  detective.  I  wanted  a  man 
free  from  the  suspicion  under  which  the  detective  works.  I  wanted  a 
man  of  rugged  honesty  and  possessed  of  a  clear  head.  Such  is  George 
Kavanaugh.  By  innuendo  and  slurring  reference  the  prosecution  have 
tried  to  cheapen  and  belittle  my  friend,  George  Kavanaugh.  Mr. 
Kavanaugh  is  in  the  court  room.  I  call  upon  him  to  stand  up  that 
you  may  the  better  remember  him.  He  wears  the  nasty  scar  made 
by  'a  bolo  knife  on  the  firing  lines  when  in  the  service  of  news  he 
marched  with  the  American  Army  in  the  Philippines.  He  followed 
the  flag  in  Cuba.  He  was  at  the  Boxer  uprising  in  China.  He  carried 
back  a  mauser  bullet  in  his  shin.  The  late  Dr.  Nicholas  Senn,  who 
served  in  Cuba  as  a  United  States  surgeon,  removed  it  in  Chicago  after 
the  war.  There  is  a  story  connected  with  the  operation  that  I  think 
should  be  told.  Kavanaugh's  sense  of  duty  caused  him  to  carry  the 
bullet  until  the  war  was  over.  When  he  returned  to  Chicago  it 
bothered  him.  He  went  to  the  Presbyterian  Hospital.  Dr.  Senn  was 
back  from  the  field.  He  operated.  During  Kavanaugh's  convales- 
cence a  bill  was  presented  to  him  while  he  was  still  in  bed.  It  was  a 
charge  of  $500.00  for  the  operation.  When  Dr.  Senn  next  visited  him, 
Kavanaugh  told  him  of  the  bill  and  asked  that  he  be  patient  until 
Kavanaugh  was  discharged  from  the  hospital.  Senn  was  surprised 
that  a  bill  had  been  presented.  He  asked  to  see  it.  Kavanaugh 
brought  it  forth  from  under  his  pillow.  Dr.  Senn  looked  at  it,  took 
his  fountain  pen  from  his  pocket  and  wrote  across  the  face  of  it,  "Paid 
in  full  in  Cuba."  This  is  the  George  Kavanaugh  who  under  my  direc- 
tion investigated  this  case  for  the  defense. 


HISTORY   OF  THE   CARL   E.    PERSON    CASE  49 

Illinois  Central  Conspiracy 

Tony  Musser  was  chief  strikebreaker.  The  uncontradicted  evi- 
dence is  that  he  lured  Person  from  his  office  by  a  fake  telephone  mes- 
sage. The  unquestioned  testimony  is  that  the  telephone  message  came 
from  the  saloon  of  Bryant  &  Coakley  at  about  two  o'clock.  Joaquin 
Wilson,  son  of  Deputy  Sheriff  Wilson  of  De  Witt  county,  swore  that 
he  passed  this  saloon  at  about  five  minutes  after  two  on  the  afternoon 
of  December  thirtieth,  1913;  that  he  saw  George  Cain,  an  Illinois 
Central  strikebreaker  and  Charles  L.  Dickerson,  a  traveling  engineer 
for  the  railroad,  standing  in  the  doorway  of  the  saloon. 

At  this  very  moment  Musser  was  decoying  Person  from  his  office 
by  the  telephone  message.  Cain  and  Dickerson  testified  for  the  prose- 
cution. They  tried  to  tie  a  noose  around  the  defendant's  neck.  Does 
it  not  seem  strange  that  Cain  and  Dickerson  were  in  the  doorway  of 
the  saloon  at  the  same  time  that  their  fellow  strikebreaker,  Musser, 
was  inside  trying  to  inveigle  Person  into  a  death  trap;  that  both  of 
them  saw  the  tragedy  and  yet  pleaded  under  oath  that  they  did  not 
know  Musser  was  in  the  saloon;  that  they  had  not  seen  him  or  talked 
to  him  on  that  day  before  the  shooting.  It  is  significant  that  other 
Illinois  Central  strikebreakers  were  present  and  saw  the  tragedy. 
Were  they  there  by  accident  or  by  design?  Were  they  there  to  see 
Musser  carry  out  the  job  of  "Getting"  Person,  to  be  used  later,  to 
supply  the  evidence  that  would  vindicate  Musser  if  he  succeeded  in 
killing  Person?  Musser  failed  in  his  plan  to  "get"  Person  and  he  paid 
the  price  with  his  life.  Now  we  find  the  witnesses  that  would  have 
vindicated  him  if  he  had  succeeded,  testifying  desperately  to  send 
Person  to  the  gallows. 

Not  one  of  the  Illinois  Central  strikebreakers  who  was  present 
made  an  effort  at  any  time,  to  pull  Musser  off  of  Person.  They  wit- 
nessed the  assault  and  although  four  disinterested  onlookers  inter- 
fered to  prevent  Musser  from  killing  Person,  not  one  of  them  was 
an  Illinois  Central  strikebreaker!  The  relative  sizes  of  Musser  and 
Person  would  have  commanded  any  red  blooded  man  to  interfere  in 
Person's  behalf. 

A  half  dozen  witnesses  said  that  while  Musser  was  on  top  of 
Person,  choking  and  beating  him,  they  heard  a  voice  cry  out : 
"Let  him  kill  the  s— of— a— b— !" 


50  HISTORY  OF  THE  CARL  E.  PERSON  CASE 

Two  witnesses,  Ira  Davenport  and  Homer  Short,  positively  identi- 
fied strikebreaker  George  Cain  as  the  author  of  this  murderous  phrase. 
This  is  the  same  George  Cain  who  stood  in  the  front  door  of  the  saloon 
of  Bryant  &  Coakley  while  Musser  was  telephoning  to  Person  from 
the  saloon.  This  is  the  same  George  Cain  who  testified  for  the  prose- 
cution and  went  to  such  terrible  lengths  in  his  efforts  to  send  Person 
to  the  gallows.  You  remember  how  I  put  the  question  to  him,  how 
confused  he  became,  how  he  hung  his  head  and  stammered.  The 
question  was  "Did  you  say, 

"Let  him  kill  the  s— of— a— b— ?" 

"No,  but  I  heard  it  come  over  my  shoulder." 

Dwell  for  a  moment  on  the  picture !  A  young  man,  slight  of 
frame — five  feet  four,  weighing  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  pounds, 
prostrate  on  the  brick  pavement.  On  him  a  powerful  man,  six  feet 
two,  weighing  over  two  hundred  and  twenty.  The  young  man  is 
being  beaten  and  choked  to  death.  His  face  is  covered  with  blood. 
He  is  utterly  helpless.  What  attitude  of  mind  must  have  moved  the 
lips  that  urged  murder  in  that  horrible  oath-framed  phrase?  I  say 
that  the  same  malice  must  have  been  in  that  man's  mind  and  the  same 
poison  in  his  heart  that  were  in  the  mind  and  heart  of  the  man  who 
was  doing  the  deed !  It  was  a  twinship  of  infamy !  A  conspiracy  in 
motive  and  thought.  Only  a  previous  understanding  and  an  agree- 
ment between  Musser  and  Cain  can  explain  it.  Who  will  dare  assert 
that  Cain's  words  were  those  of  a  disinterested  bystander,  moved  to 
speech  by  the  scene  before  him?  It  is  unthinkable.  It  is  unbeliev- 
able. It  is  impossible.  Once  in  another  day  there  was  a  Cain  who 
slew  his  brother.  Of  his  blood  and  stock  is  the  George  Cain  of  this 
case,  inheriting  all  the  qualities  of  murder  from  his  notorious  ancestor 
but  lacking  the  courage  of  the  first  Cain  to  do  the  deed.  He  acted 
as  a  coach  and  spur  in  the  conspiracy. 

Defendant  on  Stand  Challenges  Prosecution 

Person  on  the  witness  stand  told  the  story  of  his  life  calmly  and  : 
frankly.     No  technical  objections  were  used  as  a  shield  to  protect 
him  from  the  carefully  prepared  and  planned  cross  examination  to 
which  he  was  subjected.     Herrick  went  through  his  life  with  a  fine 
tooth  comb.     He  plotted  to  trip  and  trap  Person  but  there  are  no 


HISTORY   OF  THE   CARL  E.    PERSON    CASE  51 

pitfalls  for  the  truth  teller.  Herrick  asked  Person  about  the  first 
slugging  in  Decatur  in  April,  1913.  He  wanted  to  know  if  Person 
could  give  him  the  names  of  those  who  slugged  him.  Person  an- 
swered, 

"Yes,"  and  added,  "I  can  give  you  their  addresses,  Mr.  Herrick, 
too." 

Every  one  in  the  courtroom  framed  the  question  which  should 
have  been  the  next  asked  by  the  prosecutor.  The  expected  question 
was, 

"Who  were  the  men  you  claim  slugged  you  in  Decatur  in  April, 
1913?" 

That  question  was  not  asked.  There  was  a  reason.  Herrick 
didn't  dare  ask  the  question.  We  had  no  right  to  ask  the  question. 
Herrick  could  have  asked  the  question  and  could  have  brought  the 
sluggers  into  court  and  put  them  on  the  stand.  Their  evidence  would 
have  been  competent  for  the  prosecution  in  the  impeachment  of  the 
defendant.  Herrick  knew  that  these  sluggers  would  have  been  shown 
to  be  Illinois  Central  sluggers  and  the  bringing  of  them  into  court 
would  have  brought  into  this  record  another  link  in  the  evidence 
establishing  the  conspiracy  of  the  railroad  to  "get"  the  defendant. 

Then  Herrick  devoted  himself  at  length  to  a  cross  examination 
of  Person  concerning  the  slugging  in  June,  1913.  You  recall  how 
he  shouted  at  Person. 

"Do  you  know  who  slugged  you  in  June  in  Decatur?" 
Person's  answer  is  still  ringing  in  my  ears. 

"Yes,  an  Illinois  Central  Gun  Man  and  I'll  give  you  his  name, 
Mr.  Herrick,  if  you  want  it!" 

Here  was  a  direct  charge  made  under  oath.  The  defendant  had 
challenged  from  the  witness  stand  the  integrity  of  the  entire  prosecu- 
tion. There  was  a  pause.  Herrick  had  trapped  himself  again.  I  tried 
to  taunt  Herrick  into  asking  the  name  of  the  railroad  gun  man.  He 
dodged  and  ducked  in  confusion.  He  didn't  want  to  know.  He 
didn't  want  you  to  know.  If  Person  was  building  a  defense  out  of 
falsehood,  here  was  a  chance  to  undo  him !  The  record  before  you 


52  HISTORY   OF   THE   CARL   E.    PERSON    CASE 

stands  with  the  sworn  charges  of  the  defendant  uncontradicted,  that 
he  was  slugged  by  Illinois  Central  gun  men. 

Railroad's  Hand  in  Prosecution 

The  Illinois  Central  was  drawn  upon  at  every  angle.  Failing  to 
"get"  Person  by  threats,  failing  to  drive  him  from  his  post  by  the 
beatings  in  Decatur,  and  finally  Musser's  failing  to  "get"  him  on 
December  thirtieth,  the  man  hunt  is  not  abandoned.  Even  now  they 
are  reaching  into  this  court  to  "get"  him  in  the  name  of  the  law.  Dr. 
George  Edmonson,  the  mayor  of  Illinois  Central  owned  Clinton,  on 
the  payroll  of  the  road  as  one  of  its  district  surgeons,  abandoned  all 
professional  ethics  and  decency  when  he  took  the  witness  stand  and 
testified.  He  said  that  he  and  his  brother,  who  is  also  a  doctor,  a 
resident  of  Peoria  and  also  a  district  surgeon  for  the  Illinois  Central, 
attended  the  post  mortem  examination  on  the  body  of  Musser.  He 
tried  to  make  it  appear  that  all  of  the  nine  shots  had  entered  Musser's 
back.  On  cross  examination  we  were  all  surprised  to  learn  that  City 
Physician  Pugh  had  done  the  autopsy  and  that  the  two  district  sur- 
geons for  the  railroad  merely  witnessed  it.  Why  were  they  there? 
Dr.  Pugh,  you  remember,  was  not  called  by  the  state.  The  city 
physician  who  performed  the  autopsy  could  not  be  depended  upon. 
The  Edmonsons,  being  on  the  railroad's  payroll,  were  usable  and  de- 
pendable. Mayor  Edmonson's  answers  were  pitiful.  He  was  com- 
pelled to  admit  that  his  answers  were  guesses.  He  was  willing  to 
guess  away  the  life  of  a  human  being.  He  was  doing  it  in  the  service 
of  the  Illinois  Central  railroad.  Mayor  Edmonson,  in  his  eagerness 
to  serve,  let  the  mask  fall.  He  admitted  that  he  had  said  Person  was 
"a  dangerous  man,  a  red  shirted  anarchist."  These  things  he  con- 
fessed he  had  said  to  many  people  in  Clinton.  I  asked  him  to  name 
a  single  act  in  the  life  of  Carl  Person  upon  which  he,  as  mayor  of 
Clinton  and  as  a  man,  based  his  slander  of  the  defendant.  He 
hummed,  he  hawed,  he  adjusted  his  diamond  scarf  pin.  Finally  he 
answered, 

"His  attacks  upon  the  Illinois  Central  and  his  participation  in  , 
this  strike." 

Struggling  truth  was  liberated.  The  story  was  out.  The  last 
link  in  the  conspiracy  was  unwittingly  confessed  to  by  a  salaried  agent 
of  the  railroad  company,  the  mayor  of  a  city.  Person  was  an  un- 


HISTORY  OF  THE  CARL  E.  PERSON  CASE  "3 

desirable  citizen  in  the  opinion  of  this  man  because  he  dared  to  protest 
against  the  infallible  Illinois  Central  railroad.  It  is  a  sin  to  be  a  man. 
It  is  a  crime  to  question  the  right  of  organized  dollars  to  enslave  men. 

It  has  been  written  down  in  the  records  of  this  case  that  all  of 
these  things  were  done  in  the  name  of  the  people  of  the  State  of  Illi- 
nois, but  I  say  to  you  that  these  injustices  have  come  to  pass  in  the 
name  of  the  Illinois  Central  railroad. 

It  was  the  Illinois  Central  railroad  that  said  to  citizens  of  the 
state : 

"Surrender  your  union  cards  or  give  up  your  jobs!" 

It  was  the  Illinois  Central  railroad  that  "locked  out"  the  men  when 
they  refused  to  obey  its  command. 

It  was  Carl  Person  who  struck  at  the  pocket  book  heart  of  the 
railroad. 

It  was  the  Illinois  Central  that  started  to  "get"  Carl  Person. 
Essentials  Versus  Non-Essentials 

Tolstoi,  sage  and  teacher,  philospher  and  humanitarian,  voiced 
for  modern  humanity  one  mighty  truth  when  he  laid  down  the  rule 
that  before  wise  judgments  can  be  rendered,  there  must  be  clear  dis- 
tinction between  "essentials"  and  "non-essentials."  Your  judgment, 
to  be  just,  must  be  based  upon  the  essential  facts  which  have  come 
to  light  in  the  testimony  given  in  this  case.  The  little  discrepancies 
in  the  testimony  accentuate  the  truthfulness  of  the  witnesses.  These 
bits  of  conflict  and  contradiction  represent  the  fallibility  of  honest 
minds.  The  human  mind  seizes  upon  the  great  vital  facts  of  a  trans- 
action and  remembers  and  reports  such  facts  relatively  accurately. 
The  mind  as  observer  and  reporter  cannot  be  depended  upon  when 
called  upon  to  present  details.  A  systematic  attempt  has  been  made 
by  the  prosecution  in  this  case  to  magnify  the  importance  of  small  and 
natural  discrepancies  and  contradictions  in  the  evidence  presented 
in  behalf  of  the  defendant.  They  would  have  you  make  up  your  judg- 
ment upon  the  "non-essentials"  in  this  case.  By  collecting  together 
and  parading  before  your  minds  "non-essentials"  they  would  take 
your  attention  from  the  real  and  important  facts.  When  I  have  fin- 
ished this  argument  the  last  word  will  have  been  said  for  and  in  behalf 
of  Carl  Person.  Under  our  practice  the  prosecution  has  the  great 


54  HISTORY  OF  THE  CARL  E.  PERSON  CASE 

advantage  of  addressing  you  last.  I  warn  you  against  what  I  am 
sure  will  be  the  method  used  by  special  prosecutor,  Judge  Herrick, 
who  will  close  this  case  for  the  state. 

You  remember  the  testimony  of  Roscoe  Williams,  the  brother 
of  State's  Attorney  L.  O.  Williams.  He  was  an  eye  witness  to  the 
tragedy.  Mr.  Williams  is  a  man  of  education.  He  is  a  school 
principal  by  profession.  His  daily  duties  tend  to  develop  and  make 
acute,  accuracy  of  observation  and  memory.  He  came  to  the  witness 
stand  and  testified.  On  cross  examination,  you  recall,  I  asked  him 
whether  or  not  Carl  Person  wore  an  overcoat  at  the  time  Williams 
said  he  saw  Person  pull  from  his  coat  pocket  a  revolver  and  shoot 
Tony  Musser.  Mr.  Williams,  without  hesitation,  answered  in  posi- 
tive and  direct  manner  and  word :  "Mr.  Person  did  not  have  an  over- 
coat on.  I  saw  him  pull  the  revolver  from  the  coat  pocket  of  his 
suit."  I  asked  him  if  he  were  as  positive  about  that  fact  as  he  was 
about  the  other  matters  to  which  he  testified  and  he  unquivocally 
answered:  "Yes!" 

I  take  this  single  illustration  to  point  out  to  you  the  danger  of 
building  your  judgment  upon  "non-essentials."  Mr.  Williams  was 
not  guilty  of  an  intentional  falsehood.  It  was  the  honest  error  of 
his  mind  in  reporting  a  detail  of  what  happened.  I  will  not  further 
emphasize  the  danger  of  this  pitfall.  As  thinking  conscientious  men 
I  am  sure  that  you  would  have  avoided  it  without  any  alarm  from  me. 

From  the  cross  examination  by  the  prosecution  it  is  plain  to  me 
that  Judge  Herrick  will  analyze  and  argue  adroitly  and  astutely  con- 
cerning the  direction  which  Musser  and  Person  faced  and  moved 
during  every  instant  up  to  and  including  the  fraction  of  a  second 
when  the  last  shot  was  fired.  Mr.  Herrick  will  partition  seconds  and 
measure  movements  in  fractions  of  inches  in  his  effort  to  destroy  the 
evidence  offered  on  behalf  of  the  defendant.  He  is  compelled  to  re- 
sort to  this  method  of  argument  or  be  without  anything  to  say.  In 
no  essential  was  Mr.  Herrick  able  to  attack  the  truth  as  it  came  from 
the  witnesses  whose  sworn  testimony  has  so  completely  established 
the  innocence  of  this  defendant. 

We  freely  admit  that  witnesses  for  the  defense  told  varying 
stories  as  to  the  direction  Musser  faced  and  the  cardinal  point  toward 
which  Person  moved — varying  stories  as  to  the  number  of  feet  and 
inches  separating  Musser  and  Person  at  different  times — varying 


HISTORY  OF  THE   CARL   E.    PERSON    CASE  55 

stories  as  to  the  number  of  shots  Person  fired — varying  stories  as  to 
the  number  of  seconds  in  which  the  shooting  occurred.  This,  we 
argue  confidently,  is  the  proof  of  the  absolute  truthfulness  of  our  wit- 
nesses. Had  their  testimony  been  nicely  exact  and  uniform  in  every 
particular,  it  would  have  conclusively  shown  one  of  two  things ;  either 
that  our  witnesses  were  blessed  with  infallibility  of  observation  and 
memory  or  were  schooled  in  their  evidence.  Honest  testimony  carries 
with  it  all  of  the  failings  and  inaccuracies  of  mortal  mind. 

If  you,  my  friend,  were  to  go  to  a  theatre  to  witness  a  drama  you 
would  be  able  the  next  day  or  the  next  week  to  recall  accurately  the 
essentials  in  the  play.  Your  memory  would  serve  you  faithfully  as 
to  the  essentials  of  the  plot  and  the  essentials  in  the  dramatic  presen- 
tation of  it  by  the  actors.  I  venture  the  guess  that  you  would  not 
even  attempt  to  tell  with  a  profession  of  accuracy  how  many  feet  the 
villain  was  from  the  hero  when  the  fatal  shots  were  fired.  Neither 
would  you  do  anything  more  than  guess  at  the  directions  in  which 
the  principals  moved  immediately  prior  to  the  tragedy  in  the  play.  In 
the  opera  house  you  would  be  a  witness  sitting  in  a  comfortable  chair 
enjoying  repose  and  peace  of  mind,  viewing  the  spectacle  on  a  per- 
fectly lighted  stage,  elevated  and  without  anything  obstructing  your 
view.  Then,  too,  the  drama  would  only  be  a  make  believe  tragedy. 
How  different  the  position  and  condition  of  the  witnesses  to  this  real 
tragedy !  Excited,  suddenly  brought  face  to  face  with  a  terrible  strug- 
gle between  a  giant  man  and  a  young  man  who  is  a  mere  boy  in  size, 
a  crowd  quickly  collected,  the  sight  of  blood,,  the  terrible  roar  of  the 
assailant's  curses  and  threats,  everything  moving  rapidly,  tensely ; 
shrieking  women,  excited  men,  would  you  under  such  circumstances 
give  weight  and  consideration  to  testimony  that  mathematically 
divided  seconds  and  measured  in  inches. 

All  of  the  witnesses  who  testified  here,  both  for  the  state  as  well 
as  for  the  defense,  showed  a  failing  common  to  humanity.  It  is  the 
disposition  of  the  human  being  to  try  to  answer  any  question  that  is 
put  to  him.  We  are  all  disinclined  to  say,  "I  do  not  know."  Our 
egotism  makes  us  so.  Each  witness,  unconscious  of  the  fact  that  he 
was  guessing,  made  some  answer  to  every  one  of  the  many  questions 
addressed  to  the  minutest  details  of  the  tragedy  of  December  30,  1913. 
While  in  neighborly  conversations  the  indulgence  in  guessing  under 
the  respectable  apology  that  it  is  our  best  recollection,  may  be  toler- 


56  HISTORY  OF  THE  CARL  E.  PERSON  CASE 

ated,  yet  in  a  court  room,  where  a  brother's  blood,  a  man's  honor,  a 
name,  are  at  stake,  twelve  men  of  blood  and  honor  and  good  name 
will  not  take  from  the  defendant  the  things  they  themselves  hold  most 
dear  on  testimony  as  light  and  unvaluable  as  these  non-essential 
measurings  and  guessings.  May  I  reaffirm  my  own  humble  position 
by  citing  a  great  living  authority  whose  experiments  and  whose  writ- 
ings upon  the  psychology  of  evidence  are  standard.  Hugo  Munsterburg, 
savant,  who  holds  the  chair  of  psychology  at  Harvard  University,  has 
exposed  the  unreliableness  of  the  human  mind  in  reporting  details  of 
observation.  He  has  shown  the  meets  and  bounds  of  our  mental 
limitations  and  the  danger  of  forming  judgments  on  testimony  pre- 
tending to  accurately  represent  with  minuteness  the  movements  of 
men  and  the  measuring  of  time  and  distance.  I  willingly  leave  with 
you  the  task  of  determining  the  guilt  of  Carl  Person  undisturbed  by 
the  fear  that  you  will  not  be  able  to  judge  between  the  "essentials" 
and  the  "non-essentials"  in  this  case — undisturbed  by  the  fear  that 
flyspecks  of  error  will  blind  your  eyes  to  mountains  of  truth. 

Innocent  or  Guilty? 

The  days  of  this  trial  have  been  long  and  many.  One  hundred 
and  thirty  witnesses  have  taken  the  stand.  Out  of  the  facts  that  all 
of  them  have  told  has  been  spun  a  skein.  Week  by  week,  day  by  day, 
hour  by  hour,  minute  by  minute,  Truth's  strong  and  busy  fingers  have 
woven  from  the  tangled  threads  a  fine  fabric.  Deftly  she  wields  her 
shuttle.  Long  has  she  been  a  weaver  in  the  House  of  Justice.  A 
robe  for  the  innocent,  she  fashions.  And  ever  as  her  fingers  gleam 
white  and  strong,  while  her  shuttle  flies  in  and  out,  close  beside  her 
sits  Hunchback  Falsehood  and  strives  with  evil  patience  to  so  entangle 
the  threads  that  gentle  wondrous  Truth  shall  despair  of  her  labor, 
lay  aside  her  shuttle  and  leave  her  fabric  unfinished.  Haggard  eyed, 
crooked  bodied,  ghastly  faced,  the  tresspasser  Falsehood  twists  and 
snarls  the  yarn.  Endlessly  and  enviously  busy  are  her  claw  like  hands — 
calloused  and  cruel  from  their  sinful  labor.  And  as  the  days  and  hours 
and  minutes  pass,  she  braids  and  braids  and  braids — a  hangman's 
noose !  A  monstrous  hag  is  Falsehood  and  as  she  braids,  a  lie  song 
is  the  music  in  her  heart.  Now  gentlemen  of  the  jury,  the  weaver's' 
work  is  done.  Has  Truth  woven  her  robe  for  innocence  or  has  False- 
hood braided  her  hangman's  noose?  Every  answer  from  the  witness 
stand  has  been  a  thread  either  in  the  hands  of  Falsehood  or  of  Truth! 


Reading  from  left  to  right — Standing,  John  T.  Smith,  Deputy  Sheriff  of  Cook  County; 
John  Fitzpatrick,  President,  Chicago  Federation  of  Labor;  Seymour  V  Cohen,  Attorney 
at  Law,  Chicago,  III.;  Arthur  F.  Miller,  Attorney  at  I, aw,  Clinton,  111.;  Frank  Comerford, 
Attorney  at  Law,  Chicago,  111.  Sitting — Carl  E.  Person,  Editor  Strike  Bulletin,  Clin- 
ton, 111. 


58  HISTORY   OF   THE   CARL   E.    PERSON    CASE 

Case  Given  to  Jurors 

On  the  memorable  day  and  date  of  Saturday,  October  3,  1914,  ex- 
actly at  3  :08  p.  m..,  the  various  jury  addresses,  which  followed  Attor- 
ney Comerford's  brilliant  oration,  were  concluded  and  the  case  was 
given  to  the  jury  to  render  decision  in  the  name  of  the  people  of  the 
State  of  Illinois. 

The  Jury  Reports 

On  Sunday  afternoon  at  2:15  o'clock,  one  of  the  jurors  came  to 
the  window  and  shouted  "We  win."  This  was  the  signal  for  a  demon- 
stration by  the  crowd  around  the  court  house  such  as  has  never  been 
heard  before  in  Logan  county. 

At  2:30  p.  m.  Circuit  Judge  Harris  of  Lincoln  ordered  the  jury 
brought  before  him.  The  court  room  was  crowded.  At  2:35  p.  m. 
Attorney  Comerford  and  Editor  Person  arrived  at  the  court  room. 
The  verdict  of  not  guilty  was  returned  amid  a  demonstration  that 
lasted  for  ten  minutes. 

After  the  verdict  was  read  and  the  jury  polled  Attorney  Com- 
erford, chief  counsel  for  the  defense,  arose  and  said:  "Gentlemen  of 
the  jury,  you  are  farmers  and  yet  you  have  vindicated  by  your  verdict 
the  cause  of  organized  labor.  Your  acquittal  of  the  defendant  finds  the 
Illinois  Central  guilty  of  a  man  hunt.  You  have  taken  your  stand 
on  the  side  of  man  in  his  struggle  against  organized  dollars.  Carl 
Person,  the  defendant,  desires  to  address  you. 

Person  Thanks  the  Jury 

A  hush  fell  over  the  court  room.  The  people  surged  forward.  The 
editor-defendant  arose  to  his  feet.  In  tones  of  earnestness  he  said: 
"I  thank  you  for  my  vindication.  Even  more  I  thank  you  for  your 
vindication  of  the  thirty-five  thousand  men  that  I  represent.  Your 
verdict  is  not  as  important  to  me  as  it  is  to  organized  labor.  You  men, 
a  jury  of  farmers,  have  by  your  verdict  marked  the  end  of  the  murder 
agent  and  the  gunman.  This  is  significant.  It  means  that  the  farmer 
who  is  being  farmed  and  the  worker  who  is  being  worked  have  joined 
forces  against  their  common  enemy,  organized  greed." 

% 
Life  Saved,  Liberty  Threatened 

Volumes  would  be  required  to  chronicle  the  details  of  the  huge 
conspiracy  of  the  Plunderbund  and  its  agents  in  this  man  hunt.  Their 
duplicity  had  failed  of  expected  results,  their  intrigues  and  chicanery 


60  HISTORY  OF  THE  CARL  E.  PERSON  CASE 

had  availed  them  nothing.  UNVEILED  TRUTH,  using  the  farmers' 
jury  as  its  medium,  proclaimed  the  innocence  of  Carl  E.  Person  and 
the  cause  he  served  and  in  no  uncertain  manner  voiced  the  guilt  of  the 
railroads  involved. 

Chagrined  at  its  failure  to  intimidate  Organized  Labor  through 
the  legal  murder  of  one  of  its  representatives,  the  Plunderbund  and 
its  agents  invoked  the  aid  of  the  courts  once  more  and  brought  sev- 
eral new  charges  against  Person,  hoping  that  among  a  multiplicity  of 
cases,  their  wealth  purchased  influence  might  enable  them  to  secure  the 
coveted  conviction  to  be  utilized  as  a  soothing  balm  and  a  healing 
lotion  that  would  ease  the  smarting  and  pain  of  the  Bulletins'  expos- 
ure of  the  hideous  purification  that  befouled  their  corporate  bodies. 

Attorney  Comerford's  public  statement  of  the  latest  move  on  the 
legal  chessboard,  as  printed  in  the  columns  of  the  Strike  Bulletin, 
tells  the  story  in  so  plain  and  brief  a  fashion,  that  it  cannot  be  im- 
proved upon  and  is  therefor  without  alterations  or  comment. 

United  States  versus  Carl  E.  Person 

The  effort  of  the  Illinois  Central  to  send  Carl  Person  to  the  Fed- 
eral penitentiary  for  35  years  has  failed. 

Indictments  number  15244  in  the  United  States  District  Court, 
Southern  District  of  Illinois,  was  called  up  for  trial  in  the  Federal 
Court  in  Springfiefild,  Illinois,  by  Judge  J.  Otis  Humphrey,  on  Tues- 
day, January  5,  1915.  The  title  of  the  case  was  "The  United  States 
versus  Carl  Person." 

In  the  month  of  May,  1913,  Illinois  Central  detectives  and  United 
States  marshals  raided  the  office  of  the  Strike  Bulletin,  and  Carl  Per- 
son was  taken  before  a  United  States  commissioner,  who  bound  him 
over  to  await  the  action  of  the  Federal  Grand  Jury  on  the  charge  of 
having  mailed  libelous,  scurrilous  and  defamatory  matter  through  the 
United  States  mails,  in  violation  of  section  212  of  the  United  States 
criminal  code.  Person  gave  bond  and  was  released  from  custody. 

Subsequently,  the  Federal  Grand  Jury  returned  an  indictment 
against  Carl  Person.  The  indictment  contained  seven  counts.  In  it 
Person  was  charged  with  sending  through  the  mails  matters  of  a 
libelous  and  defamatory  character,  calculated  and  intended  to  reflect 
injuriously  upon  the  conduct  of  the  ILLINOIS  CENTRAL  RAIL- 
ROAD. The  matter  upon  which  the  counts  were  based  was : 

THE  ILLINOIS  CENTRAL  KILLED  OLD  MAN  HARRI- 


HISTORY  OF  THE   CARL   E.    PERSON    CASE  61 

HAN  AT  KINMUNDY.  WHERE  WILL  THEY  KILL  YOU? 
BIG  STRIKE  ON.  WHEN  YOU  ARE  ABOUT  TO  TRAVEL, 
BEAR  IN  MIND  THAT  THE  ILLINOIS  CENTRAL  IS  THE 
GRAVE  YARD  LINE.  BIG  STRIKE  ON  THE  ILLINOS  CEN- 
TRAL AND  HARRMAN  LINES.  HUMAN  BLOOD  FLOWS, 
AND  FLESH  AND  BONES  HAVE  NO  PROTECTION.  FIVE 
KILLED  IN  THE  BALKAN  WAR,  AND  FORTY-FIVE  KILLED 
ON  THE  ILLINOIS  CENTRAL.  I  DO  NOT  RIDE  THE  ILLI- 
NOIS CENTRAL.  DO  YOU? 

The  penalty  clause  of  section  212  of  the  United  States  penal  code 
reads : 

SHALL  BE  FINED  NOT  MORE  THAN  FIVE  THOUSAND 
DOLLARS,  OR  IMPRISONED  FOR  NOT  MORE  THAN  FIVE 
YEARS,  OR  BOTH. 

There  were  seven  counts  against  Carl  Person.  He  was  facing  a 
possible  maximum  penalty  of  35  years  in  the  penitentiary  and  a  fine 
of  thirty-five  thousand  dollars.  Carl  Person  assumed  the  full  respon- 
sibility for  his  act.  There  was  no  plea  for  mercy  and  no  attempt  to 
escape  by  a  technicality. 

The  court  heard  the  story,  a  plain  story  of  facts,  and  those  who 
were  there  to  send  Carl  Person  to  the  penitentiary  failed.  The  struggle 
to  get  Person  must  have  cost  thousands  of  dollars.  It  began  with  a 
raid  on  the  "Strike  Bulletin."  This  took  the  time  of  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral detectives  and  United  States  marshals.  It  occupied  the  time  and 
attention  of  a  United  States  commissioner  sitting  as  an  examining 
magistrate,  and  of  a  United  States  Grand  Jury,  and  a  United  States 
District  Attorney's  office.  And  the  United  States  Court  made  the  fine 
ONE  HUNDRED  DOLLARS. 

Still  the  beast  is  on  Person'  trail.  Person  is  under  bond  to  an- 
swer to  the  charge  of  criminal  libel  in  the  county  court  of  DeWitt 
county,  for  calling  a  scab  a  scab  in  the  columns  of  the  Strike  Bulletin. 
In  another  indictment  Person  is  charged  with  criminal  libel  for  pub- 
lishing a  poem  and  a  cartoon  of  a  humorous  nature  which  poked  fun 
at  some  of  the  friends  of  the  ILLINOIS  CENTRAL  RAILROAD. 

In  a  trumped-up  civil  suit,  Person  is  sued  for  $10,000.00  by  the 
Musser  estate.  As  a  result  of  this  suit,  the  equipment  of  the  Strike 
Bulletin  and  the  funds  of  the  Illinois  Central  System  Federation  are 
attached. 

In  the  trials  that  are  to  come  Person  will  be  vindicated,  as  he  has 


62  HISTORY   OF   THE   CARL  E.    PERSON    CASE 

been  vindicated  in  those  of  the  past.  He  has  violated  no  law,  but  has 
been  the  victim  of  the  Illinois  Central  railroad  because  of  his  efforts 
in  behalf  of  the  striking  shopmen. 

The  cost  of  it  all  in  dollars  and  cents  will  be  much  less  than  that  of 
any  criminal  trial  or  trials  of  like  magniture  in  the  history  of  the  labor 
movement.  The  money  subscribed  up  to  this  time  has  all  been  spent 
in  the  preparation  of  Person's  defense.  I  have  spent  over  a  year  of 
my  time  in  this  fight.  Up  to  the  present  time,  I  have  used  every  dol- 
lar contributed  to  the  defense  of  Person  to  protect  him  and  the  labor 
movement  against  the  larger  piles  of  dollars  in  the  hands  of  the 
Illinois  Central  Raillroad  company.  Not  one  cent  has  been  appro- 
priated to  my  own  use  as  a  fee. 

Appreciation  of  Illinois  Trades  Unionists 

The  enemies  and  pessimistic  critics  of  Organized  Labor  being 
prone  to  contend  that  the  besetting  sin  of  the  organized  forces  of  toil 
is  INGRATITUDE. 

The  Person  Defense  League  of  Chicago,  animated  by  an  earnest 
desire  to  refute  in  some  convincing  manner  so  slanderous  an  assertion, 
after  consultling  with  the  organized  workers  in  city  and  state,  ten- 
dered to  Frank  Comerford,  in  the  name  of  the  Trades  Unionists  of  the 
State  of  Illinois  and  the  City  of  Chicago,  the  self-explanatory  resolu- 
tion in  engrossed  form,  as  illustrated  on  the  pages  following: 

Person  Defense  League  of  Chicago,  Chicago  Federation  of 

Labor  and  Illinois  State  Federation  of  Labor  to 

Frank  Comerford 

WHEREAS,  The  Commercial  spirit  which  largely  governs  hu- 
manity in  this  age  of  gold,  is  responsible  for  the  general  belief,  that 
money  can  and  does  constitute  a  fair  exchange  for  any  and  every  form 
of  service  in  the  entire  field  of  human  endeavor,  and 

WHEREAS,  The  history  of  human  evolution,  particularly  that 
portion  dealing  with  the  advancement  of  the  World's  toilers  is  replete 
with  instances  that  clearly  demonstrate  that  the  zealous  and  unremit- 
ting labors  of  many  who  have  immolated  themselves  on  the  altar  of 
self  sacrifice,  is  a  type  of  service  that  cannot  be  adequately  compen- 
sated by  the  payment  of  mere  dollars  and  cents,  and 

WHEREAS,  The  brilliant,  skillful  and  successful  defenes  of 
CARL  E.  PERSON,  the  Machinist  Editor  of  the  System  Federation 


HISTORY  OF   THE   CARL   E.    PERSON    CASE 


63 


Strike  Bulletin  by  ATTORNEY  FRANK  COMERFORD  of  Chicago, 
from  the  charge  of  having  murdered  the  thug,  Tony  Musser,  who 
sought  to  take  Editor  Person's  life  at  Clinton,  111.,  on  December  30, 


• 


mum     1''1'1'- 

p  j  tnVnitiuii  of  jjulmr.  tinft 
Ill-iiHiii»&hih'  1  WmiHiHi  iii 


1913,  involved  work  of  body,  mind  and  soul,  that  can  never  be  paid 
for  by  the  usual  commercial  standards,  regarded  as  an  equitable  squar- 
ing of  labor  accounts,  therefore,  be  it 

RESOLVED,  By  the  delegates  of  the  PERSON  DEFENSE 
LEAGUE  OF  CHICAGO  in  regular  session  assembled,  that  the 
League's  conception  of  ORGANIZED  LABOR'S  obligation  to  Attor- 
ney Frank  Comerford,  for  his  masterful  presentation  of  the  fairness  of 
Organized  Labor's  position  in  its  life  and  death  struggle  with  the 


64  HISTORY  OF  THE  CARL  E.  PERSON  CASE 

predatory  forces  of  corporate  wealth  that  sought  the  life  of  Person 
at  Lincoln,  Logan  County,  Illinois,  as  a  warning  to  other  courageous 
leaders,  be  prepared  in  resolutio'n  form ;  that  though  crudely  express- 
ing Labor's  appreciation  of  Attorney  Comerford's  herculean  efforts  to 
serve  both  Person  and  the  cause  of  organized  labor  would  indicate 
in  some  measure  the  Trades  Unions'  recognition  of  the  value  of  such 
labors,  for  which  the  wage  paid,  even  though  accompanied  by  a  heart- 
felt prayer  of  thanks,  seems  but  small  remuneration  when  compared 
with  the  value  of  the  services  rendered,  and, 

RESOLVED,  That  copies  of  this  resolution  be  presented  to  the 
Chicago  Federation  of  Labor  and  the  Illinois  State  Federation  of 
Labor  so  that  the  indorsement  of  these  resolutions  by  those  two  Cen- 
tral Labor  Bodies,  representing  the  organized  labor  forces  of  the  whole 
State  of  Illinois,  will  constitute  a  declaration,  by  the  Trades  Unionists 
of  Illinois,  of  their  grateful  appreciation  of  the  task  performed  by 
Frank  Comerford,  both  as  man  and  attorney  in  saving  the  life  of 
Carl  E.  Person  and  forcing  a  respect  for  the  cause  he  represented  that 
will  prompt  humanity  to  see  and  understand  the  aims  and  objects  of 
Organized  Labor  with  a  clearer  vision  and  mind  than  ever  before, 
and  be  it  further 

RESOLVED,  That  upon  concurrence  of  these  resolutions  by  the 
Illinois  State  Federation  of  Labor  and  the  Chicago  Federation  of 
Labor,  that  the  Person  Defense  League  of  Chicago  have  same  suitably 
engrossed  and  after  being  signed  by  the  proper  officials  of  the  above 
named  organizations,  together  with  the  League  Committee,  same  be 
tendered  to 

Frank  D.   Comerford 

as  an  enduring  testimonial  from  Organized  Labor  acknowledging  the 
value  of  the  service  rendered  by  him  to  suffering  humanity. 

COMMITTEE  ON  RESOLUTIONS, 

L.  P.  STRAUBE,          I.  J.  CUNDIFF,         GEO.  L.  GRIFFIN. 
WM.  McINERNEY,  GEORGE   PHELPS, 

Financial   Secretary,   Person   De-  Sec'y   Person   Defense    League   of 

fense    League    of    Chicago.  Chicago. 

JOHN   C.   FLORA,  T.  L.  RIORDAN, 

Pres.,   Person    Defense    League  Treasurer,    Person    Defense    League 

of  Chicago.  of    Chicago. 

VICTOR  A.  OLANDER,  JOHN  H.  WALKER, 

Sec'y    Illinois    State    Federation  Pres.,    Illinois    State    Federation    of 

of  Labor.  Labor. 

EDWARD  N.  NOCKELS,  JOHN  J.   FITZPATRICK, 

Sec'y    Chicago    Federation    of  Pres.,   Chicago   Federation  of  Labor. 

Labor. 


HISTORY  OF  THE   CARL  E.    PERSON    CASE  65 

Conclusion 

In  conclusion  the  Person  Defense  League  of  Chicago,  while  re- 
iterating its  previously  expressed  thanks  to  those  who  have  con- 
tributed to  the  Leagues  appeals  for  financial  aid,  desires  to  impress 
upon  the  readers  of  this  little  booklet,  that  Labor's  past  victories  in  the 
legal  arena,  in  behalf  of  Carl  Person,  has  but  made  the  Plunderbund 
more  viciously  determined  than  ever  it  was  to  strike  Labor  a  stagger- 
ing blow  that  may  prove  its  undoing;  to  avoid  such  a  contingency, 
requires  funds,  and  these  funds  must  be  furnished  by  organized  labor, 
for  even  in  the  game  of  matching  dollars  with  the  monopolistic  pow- 
ers of  America,  by  virtue  of  its  numerical  strength,  labor  need  feel 
no  cause  for  alarm  if  its  members  will  exhibit  the  same  degree  of 
solidarity  which  has  won  for  them  whatever  progress  has  been  at- 
tained in  the  industrial  field. 

In  contributing  to  the  Person  Defense  League  of  Chicago,  and 
helping  to  make  a  fair  trial  for  Carl  E.  Person  in  the  still  pending 
cases  a  possibility,  trades  unionists  are  but  paying  an  insurance  prem- 
ium that  will  afford  them  a  degree  of  industrial  protection  procurable 
by  no  more  effective  or  cheaper  method.  Organized  Labor's  motto 
reads, 

An  Injury  to  One,  is  the  Concern  of  All 

Does  this  say  what  it  means,  or  mean  what  it  says  as  regards  the 
relationship  supposed  to  exist  among  the  rank  and  file  of  organized 
labor?  If  it  does,  Carl  E.  Person's  troubles  are  your  troubles,  his 
dangers  are  shared  by  you,  the  loss  of  his  liberty  will  jeopardize  your 
own  freedom  and  to  properly  safeguard  your  own  welfare  all  assist- 
ance rendered  to  Person  in  this,  his  time  of  trial,  will  be  converted 
into  the  magical  bread  cast  upon  the  waters  that  will  return  to  you 
magnified  a  thousand  fold. 

"United  We  Stand,  Divided  We  Fall" 

Labor's  success  will  be  measured  by  your  response  to  this  call. 
"As  we  sow,  so  shall  we  reap,"  is  a  scriptural  quotation  as  true  as  it 
is  brief,  therefor  fairness  to  SELF  and  justice  to  the  CAUSE  sug- 
gests a  literal  compliance  with  the  safe  guidance  of  the  GOLDEN 
RULE. 


6f  HISTORY  OF  THE  CARL  E.  PERSON  CASE 

"Do  Unto  Others,  as  You  Would  Have  Others 
Do  Unto  You" 

For,  as  the  well  known  author  Berton  Braley,  aptly  describes  it  in 
verse 

Well,  after  all,  the  whole  thing's  up  to  us, 
However  we  may  try  to  shift  the  shame, 
It's  you  and  I  that  really  are  to  blame 
If  things  are  tangled  up  and  in  a  muss. 

If  might  is  right,  if  goodness  yields  to  greed, 
If  mammon  thrives,  and  God  is  quite  forgot, 
If  evil  reigns  in  many  a  beauty  spot, 
It  is  because  We  have  not  taken  heed. 

The  wrongs  that  live  are  those  we  tolerate 
Because  we  have  not  tried  to  make  them  right; 
If  darkness  is  where  justice  calls  for  light, 
If  love  is  trampled  out  by  wrath  and  hate ; 

If  little  children  toil  and  women  slave  , 
If  some  men  starve  while  others  feast  and  waste, 
If  truth  is  lost  and  liberty  disgraced, 
If  millions  fast  from  childhood  to  the  grave, — 

It  is  because,  for  all  our  noise  and  fuss, 
We  stay  content  with  matters  as  they  are, 
We  have  the  final  chance  to  make  or  mar — 
Well,  after  all  the  whole  thing's  up  to  us! 


• 


Authorized  by  the  Chicago  Federation  of  Labor.       Endorsed  by  the  Illi- 
nois   State   Federation   of   Labor 

The  Person  Defense 


League 


OFFICERS 

JOHN   C.   FLORA,   President 
L.  P.  STRAUBE,  Rec.  Secretary 
RAYMOND    J.    KENNEDY,    Asst.    Sec'y 
WM.   McINERNEY,  Fin.   Secretary 
T.    L.    RIORDAN,   Treasurer 
JOHN    WHITE, '  Sergeant-at-Arms 

Executive  Committee 

JOHN   C.   FLORA 
GEO  PHELPS 

I.  J.  CUNDIFF 

A.    C.    ANDERSON 
WM.   ROSSELL 

R.    HALLBURG 

E.  ARNOLD  TONY   \VETH 

C.    D.    WHEELER 
GEO.   GRIFFIN 
T.  L.  RIORDAN 

WM.  McINERNEY 

RAYMOND    J.    KENNEDY 
FRED  A.   LOHN 

L.    P.    STRAUBE 

Publicity  Committee 

L.  P.  STRAUBE  E.  ARNOLD 


Office  and  Headquarters 
166  West  Washington  Street,  6th  Floor 

Room  608 


156  (TRADES 


COUNCIL^  ise 


i 


